Falling With You
by GCatsPjs
Summary: Sequel to "Beyond the Sea". The love story continues into the autumn... (I have a thing for making things in season 6 right again) If you didn't read "Beyond the Sea" You might want to. There's sure to be references.
1. The New Normal

**Falling With You is a sequel to Beyond the Sea... I recommend you read that one first, but it's not completely necessary... Enjoy. **

* * *

It was Monday morning after vacation, and though the morning had been filled with laughter and happiness, Brennan and Booth were forced to go their separate ways and head to their respective jobs alone. It didn't take long into the morning before Booth headed to get out to get his post-Afghanistan ready for duty form. Booth now found himself sitting on that uncomfortable couch across the room from Sweets alone. The psychologist had his eyes narrowed on the agent, and seemed to be trying to gain information just from staring at him. "Sweets, the form." Booth said, tapping the paper on the table.

"You won't answer any of my questions." Sweets replied.

"That's because your questions have absolutely nothing to do with my time in Afghanistan." He said, tapping the paper again with his finger. "Sign, please."

"Booth, we need to have an open conversation about your relationship with Doctor Brennan." Sweets said, his tone serious.

"Why? She's not here. She wasn't in Afghanistan. Also, I don't think that she would take very kindly to you talking about her behind her back. This isn't about Bones, it's about you taking your scrawny little paw, and scribbling your name onto that line right there." He said, tapping on the paper. "Right there."

"How was your camping trip with Parker?" Sweets asked.

"It was fine." Booth said, glaring at the psychologist for another several moments. "What do you want from me, Sweets?"

"I just want to have a conversation with you. You came home from your tour early. I'm just trying to understand why." He said, watching the agent close his eyes as if he were counting to ten.

"I didn't want to keep teaching people to shoot other people, okay? I missed my kid, I missed my work here, and I would really like to get back to it." He said, tapping on the table again.

"You mentioned something about night terrors before you left on your camping trip. Do you want to talk about that?" Sweets asked.

"Nope. There's nothing to talk about there." He said with a challenging glare.

"Are you having night terrors, Booth? Do you have any lingering issues with your time overseas? Signs of PTSD, or anxiety disorders?" Sweets asked. "Have you been depressed, are you feeling anxious?"

"The only anxiety that I have right this minute is being caused by the fact that you won't sign this paper in the next ten seconds so that I can go back to my office and work." He sighed. "Just sign the paper, Sweets. We can have our regular therapy at another time. Are you going to bring Bones in here and grill her about her vacation too?" He asked snidely.

"Perhaps." He shrugged.

"And you think that's a wise idea?" Booth asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Why haven't you been to the lab to see Doctor Brennan?" Sweets asked quickly, watching as Booth's eyes darkened slightly.

"I literally just got into town Saturday, Sweets. I don't go to the lab unless we have a case. We do not have a case, therefore I am not going to be going to the lab." He growled. "See that? That's Bones style logic right there." He said.

"Are you and Doctor Brennan going to be able to work together?" Sweets asked.

"Yes. Bones and I are just fine." He snipped. "Now, sign the paper." He said, tapping the paper again.

Sweets sat back, watching the agent across from him, and could almost literally see the wall that he was building between them. He was just about to say something when Booth's phone rang. He lifted it to his ear, still glaring angrily across at the psychologist. "Booth." He said into the line. "Great. I'll pick you up." He said, his voice gruff and short. "Yes." He snapped, and then hung up the phone.

"Was that Doctor Brennan?"

"Yes." He sighed. "We have a case, can you please sign the paper?" He asked, his tone bordering on a whine. "Please, just sign the paper." He sighed.

"You were pretty short with her." He said.

"Sweets!" Booth exclaimed.

"Sorry." Sweets said, taking the paper, he quickly signed his name. When he looked up, Booth was already standing at the table. He reached forward and grabbed the paper.

"Thanks." Booth said, heading for the door.

"I look forward to..." He started as Booth walked out the door without another word. "Seeing you and Doctor Brennan." He mumbled to himself as he sighed, sitting back in his chair.

* * *

Booth drove to the Jeffersonian and parked the car, then headed directly for the lab. The elevator doors just opened on the correct floor when he came face to face with Brennan. "Bones?" He said. She smiled and reached forward, putting her hand flat on his chest to send him back into the elevator. "Hey, hey... careful." He said, failing miserably at hiding his smile. The elevator doors closed, and she was immediately in front of him, her bag on the floor, and her hand on his tie as she pulled him into her and started kissing him immediately. "Mmm..." he groaned into her mouth, pulling from the kiss he took a deep breath. "Wow." He said softly.

"I'm sorry, but it has been an extremely long morning." She said, reaching up to wipe a smear of lipstick from his mouth, she tipped her head and watched his eyes as she gently smoothed his tie, keeping her hand on his chest. She watched them sparkle back at her.

"I assure you, an apology is not necessary." He said, placing his hand on hers, she smiled into his eyes. "I missed you."

"I missed you." She said, taking a deep breath, and took a step back, standing beside him.

"I'm sorry if I was a little short on the phone with you." He said, reaching toward her to place his hand on her back, she leaned into him slightly just as the elevator doors opened. "I was getting my form signed by Sweets, and he was being his nosy self." He said, noting the concern that flashed in her eyes. "He just kept asking me why I hadn't been to the lab, and why I haven't seen you."

"We didn't have a case." She said, giving Booth a confused glance. "Does he not understand how our jobs work?" She asked, walking beside Booth as they headed toward his car.

"He seems convinced that I'm avoiding you." He said, gently rubbing her back as they approached the car.

"You're not avoiding me, are you?" She asked playfully, turning as he reached for her door handle. He pulled on it to open it, and she smiled at him.

"Absolutely not." He said, leaning in to drop a kiss on her lips. "I was actually hoping that a case would pop up, just so I could have an excuse to see you." He said, watching as she climbed into her seat, watching him with a humored smile.

"You're not going to end up being a suspect are you?" She asked, watching him laugh at her insinuation as he shook his head and closed the door for her.

* * *

They were driving toward the crime scene and Booth noticed that Brennan's attention was on him here and there. "Do you need something, Bones?" He asked, looking in her direction.

"No. No, it's nothing. I just… Have you spoken with Hannah?" She asked, watching his attention go to her.

"No." He said, shaking his head. "When would I have had time to talk to her, Bones?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Nevermind." She replied, sensing his tone had gotten a bit sharper. "I'm sorry."

"Hey." He said, taking her hand. "I haven't had a second to give her a call or anything, okay? I'm enjoying my time with you." He said, watching her smile slightly, he squeezed her hand. "Stop worrying about Hannah. She's nothing that you have to be concerned about."

"I was just curious. It's something that's on my mind." She shrugged. "I'll try not to pry." She replied. She squeezed his hand lightly back to let him know that they were still solid.

"Always tell me what's on your mind. I love your mind." He said, watching her smile slightly and roll her eyes at him.

* * *

The partners briefly talked about the crime scene they were headed to, but for the most part, the drive was quiet. Brennan had already taken a few notes based upon what she had been told by Cam, and Booth had been briefed on his way to the Jeffersonian. Booth turned into the park driveway, and slowly made his way down the drive. He passed the small ticket booth and proceeded down the road toward where the FBI had staged themselves.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Booth asked, watching as confusion clouded her expression.

"Ready for what?" Brennan asked, though after a moment she was sure that she knew what he was referring to.

"This. Working together again, getting into the thick of it." He said, carefully driving down the road. He could see the lights of police and FBI in the distance.

"We've not stopped working together. We just had... other tasks." She said, watching his eyebrows raise. "We've reached a new level of our relationship, and while I had been nervous the last few days, I believe that we are where we belong." She said.

"You're sure you're okay? Because before you left, you said you were tired of dealing with the crime, and death, and sadness." Booth said softly.

She took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I needed time to rationally assess the best use of my considerable skills. Our relationship is as strong as ever, and I feel that I am much more useful solving crimes." She said.

"So you're happy that we're working together again?" He asked.

"That's what I just said." She said, furrowing her brow. She watched him smile at her, and narrowed her eyes. "Well I needed time to rationally assess the best use of my considerable skills. Factoring in that we have such a strong and mutually beneficial relationship, I concluded that I could be most useful solving crimes."

Instead of replying, Booth just pulled the car up beside another agent's car and glanced to his partner. He could see that the Jeffersonian technicians had already arrived, and it was clear that they were waiting for Brennan to begin her process.

"I didn't know that the techs had already left for the crime scene." Booth said, glancing to her. "You could have just left with them, gone in the van."

"And miss the opportunity to assault you in the elevator?" She smirked at him. "No way." She said, hopping from the SUV as she listened to his laugh as he climbed from the car and followed after her.


	2. The Very Long Morning

Booth and Brennan approached the crime scene and remains with Booth's typical moments of barking out orders to the other agents. He'd ask Brennan if she needed anything, and if she responded in the affirmative, he'd bark out that order too. The scene was secure, and all of the techs that they needed were there. There was flesh on the remains, so Cam was present, and Hodgins was also nearby collecting soil and insect samples.

Brennan slipped on her latex gloves, looking down at the remains as Cam immediately began her assessment. Booth stood beside them, notebook in hand as he quietly listened to what they were saying and wrote down notes. He made no jokes, no snide comments, he didn't even make fun of Hodgins when he slipped and fell on some leaves on a nearby hill. He just took notes and would occasionally ask questions.

He did notice at one point that Cam was watching him closely, and he looked over at her with a curious smirk. "What's the problem, Camille?" He asked, watching her eyes narrow. He could see in her eyes that she was relieved that some things never change.

"You're too quiet, Seeley." She said, watching him shrug. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I've just got nothing to say." He shrugged, glancing down to Brennan, waiting for her to indicate that she needed something.

"How was your camping trip?" Cam asked. "Did Parker have a good time? I bet he was excited to see you."

"He was very happy to have me back in town. We had a lot of fun on our trip. I missed him a lot. It's good to be back." He said, noticing that Brennan was watching him as if she had something to say. "Sorry, gotta get back to…" He nodded toward Brennan. "Whatcha got, Bones?" He asked, carefully stepping over to her.

"Female, late twenties, early thirties." She said, still examining the remains. He took notes as he listened to her quietly. "Multiple fractures. It appears she was bludgeoned." She said, looking up at Booth, squinting as the sun hit her eyes. "No identification on the body. There's a wallet, but nothing in it."

"So maybe robbery." He shrugged. He then glanced toward Hodgins. "What about you, bug boy? Got anything?" He asked, watching Hodgins look up at Booth with a slightly humored smile, noting that Booth was starting to get back into his stride again.

"Maggot activity, a few spots right down to the bone." He said, glancing to Brennan.

She glanced to Booth. "We're going to need the remains brought back to the Jeffersonian to determine time of death. I'm going to need the remains, and surrounding rocks and soil." She said, standing up, she took a step back as Booth nodded and wrote some notes.

"Okay." He said, punctuating something in his notepad, he glanced to Brennan. "That all you need, Bones?" He asked, watching her nod. "Let's go, then." He said, nodding toward the car. "Head back to the truck, and I'll let the guys know what we need at the lab." He said, watching her nod and gather her things. She headed back toward the SUV, and Booth turned to discuss details with one of the other agents. Once he was done with that, Cam approached him again.

"Are you sure you're okay, Seeley?" She asked, watching as he turned to look over at her.

"Never been better." He said, sincerely. She tipped her head, trying to read him for a moment and found that she couldn't quite figure out what he was hiding. He did look happy, there was just something about his quiet demeanor that was rubbing her the wrong way. She hadn't seen him with Doctor Brennan in over three months, and even their communication seemed off to her. She couldn't tell if they were getting along, fighting, or just moving forward with their own life, causing tension. The only thing she could be sure of, was there was tension in the air, and she couldn't quite figure out the cause. "I should get Bones back. We'll probably stop for lunch before I drop her off at the lab. I'll see you around." He said, waving to her as he headed back to the car.

"See you around." Cam said, watching him retreat back to his SUV, still wondering what wasn't quite right about the way he was acting.

Booth got to the SUV and climbed inside, glancing over to Brennan as she wrote down notes about the crime scene. "Are you ready to go?" He asked.

"Yes. Nearly." She said, concentrating on her task. She noticed after several moments that he hadn't started the car. She looked up at him and she smiled at him. "Is there a problem?" She asked.

"Nope, just admiring you doing your work." He said, putting the key in the ignition, he turned the SUV on. "Keep taking your notes, we're not in a hurry." He said, watching her start to write again. He waited for several minutes and when it appeared that she was finished with what she needed to write down, she closed her folder and looked up at him. "Are you ready to go?" He asked, and she nodded.

"It seems to me that Cam is a bit suspicious of your behavior out there." She said, watching him glance to her as he backed out of the space.

"What behavior?" He asked. "I'm not acting any different than I do any other time."

"Well, I noticed that you didn't make any jokes while I examined the remains." She said, watching him glance to her as he started to drive.

"Jokes?"

"Yes. Occasionally, you tend to work through your anxiety and displeasure at a crime scene with humorous, albeit sometimes inappropriate jokes." She said, watching him glance at her and then back to the road. "Also, you asked Hodgins if he was alright when he fell, which was odd, because I think that in the past when Hodgins had fallen, you'd make some comment about his drinking habits." She teased.

"Stop it. I do not!" He said, watching her smile. He couldn't help but smile back at her. "I think Cam just isn't used to me being around. It's been a while." He said a bit defensively.

"You've known Cam for a very long time, Booth. It's just possible that she can see a change in you that you may not even notice." She replied, watching him smile and reach his hand for her to take it.

"Maybe I have changed." He said, glancing to her again and then back to the road. "Maybe I've changed for the better and everyone else has to just deal with it." He felt her squeeze his hand. He glanced over to her and could see that she had her head turned to watch him, tipped back on the seat, her eyes focusing on him intensely with a slight smile on her lips. "What is it, Bones? Are you okay?"

"Yes." She said, rubbing her thumb gently over his palm. He looked back to the road and back to her again. "The remains won't be at the lab for a couple of hours." She said in a deep, almost sultry voice. She knew that she had his attention, when he squeezed her hand tightly. "Maybe we could just have lunch at my place. I could take a shower, wash that fresh crime scene smell off, and we could maybe... enjoy the company of one another... in a private setting instead of going to the diner, and being bothered by others." She shrugged, rubbing her thumb over his hand, gently pushing her fingers into various pressure points, knowing exactly what she was doing. "It's just a thought." She shrugged.

"Bones?" he said, his tone was full of surprise. "Bones." He said, letting out a sigh, his mind completely blank for a moment.

"I told you, Booth. It has been a very long morning." She said, watching him out of the corner of her eye as she gently pulled her hand from his and scratched at her fingernail. "Just... a very, very, very long morning." She sighed, looking over at him, he swore that she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"I'm about one more 'very' away from turning on the lights and siren." He said, watching her lower lip protrude just a little. "Bones." He said, shaking his head slightly.

"Very?" She whispered, suddenly feeling the acceleration on the SUV pick up. She let out a laugh and watched his look of concentration. "Booth, slow down." She laughed, reaching over to put her hand on his leg. "Getting pulled over may dampen the mood a bit." She said, giving his leg a gentle squeeze. She could hear him growl a bit, and the car slow a little. "Good boy." She whispered, watching his eyes flick to her without moving his head. "Good, good boy." She said again, giving his leg another squeeze. "I love you." She said.

"I love you, Trouble." He said, listening to her laugh as they made their way back toward the city together.


	3. Stuck In Traffic

There was very little eating on their lunch break, and a lot more tie flinging, shoe tossing, and button flicking than either of them expected. They passed on Brennan's apartment and instead made their way to Booth's, based on the fact that his apartment was closest to the Jeffersonian. They had barely closed the door behind them on their way in and moved methodically through the apartment, dodging chairs, couches, tables, and bookshelves all the while not letting go of the target of their desire for a moment. They made it to the bedroom in no time, and she nearly knocked the wind out of him when she landed on top of him across the mattress. She immediately began to pepper him with kisses.

"Bones." He mumbled against her tender kisses. He turned his head and she started kissing his chest. "Bones… Bones stop for a second." He said, watching her eyes meet his. She looked a little alarmed at first, and then saw the lustful gaze in his eyes, and all worry was immediately erased, replaced with a look of hunger. "I love you." He said, watching that half smile appear that always made his heart soar. "I just wanted you to know that I love you."

"I know." She whispered. "I was simply trying to show you how much I love you." She said, dropping a kiss on his chin, and one on his cheek. "You know that I am very hands on." She said, running her hands over his now bare chest, she raked her fingernails across his skin and felt his body tense. "Very, very hands on."

"I swear that you're trying to kill me." He groaned, capturing her lips with his.

"I would never." She whispered, trying not to smile, she could feel her desire building with each passing moment. "I believe that you have the stamina to keep up with me." She purred into his neck, feeling his hands roam her body. "You do, don't you?" She asked, kneading his shoulders with her thumbs, she could hear him groaning beneath her. "Hmm?" She hummed.

"I won't know until I try." He said, listening to her surprised laugh as he rolled with her across the bed. Her happiness lifted his spirits and warmed his heart as they spent their lunch break reminding one another how much they loved each other.

* * *

The trip back to the lab was filled with electricity and secret smiles. Brennan could feel his eyes on her every once in a while, and was tempted to tease him about how he should be paying attention to the road instead of her. "You are aware that we can't do this at every lunch break, right?" Booth asked, watching her head turn swiftly to look at him.

"If we were to make love on our lunch break each day, I am fairly certain that Cam would be suspicious of more than just your quiet behavior at a crime scene." She said with a nod.

"That's right. I'd probably end up with a limp." He said, watching her eyes widen as she let out a loud laugh. She covered her mouth as her cheeks blushed in mild embarrassment at her moment of joy. "That's the most beautiful sound in the world." He said, watching as her blushed cheeks turned a little pinker.

"I'm sure that there are composers, or perhaps a bird somewhere that has a song that is far more beautiful than my laughter." She replied.

"I refuse to believe that." He said, watching her shake her head.

Suddenly, Brennan's phone began to ring, and she lifted it to her ear. "Brennan." She said, glancing over toward Booth as her smile disappeared when she snapped back into professional mode. "Yes." She replied. "I am on my way back in now. If the remains arrive before I do, please have Clark do a complete catalogue of the evidence. Thank you." She said, hanging up the phone. "The remains are due to arrive shortly." She said.

"It was a shame that we got stuck in traffic." Booth said, looking toward her as he drove without issues toward the Jeffersonian. "That really slowed us down on our lunch break, didn't it?"

She was about to correct him when she figured out that he was simply making an excuse for their tardiness. "Agent Booth, are you suggesting that I lie about my whereabouts?" She asked, watching his eyebrow lift.

"We did get stuck behind that one guy who was going five miles an hour under the speed limit." He said, watching her smile and shake her head.

"He turned after a block." She teased back.

"Still… stuck in traffic." He smiled, pulling up to the side of the Jeffersonian, he watched her pause for a moment. He turned his head to look at her, and she seemed a bit conflicted. "You okay, Bones?"

She turned her head and looked into his eyes. "I really want to kiss you." She said softly, knowing that because they were at the Jeffersonian that public displays of affection should be few and far between in the open. "I want to reach over, grab that tie, and pull you into me and give you a kiss that will last the rest of the day." She said, watching him take a slow deep breath and release it slowly.

"I really want to kiss you." He said, watching her eyes as they traveled over his features. "I want to reach over and tuck that bit of hair behind your ear, and kiss every inch of you. You're beautiful." He whispered, taking her hand in his, he could see her shudder slightly. "You say that I'm insatiable, but I can see it in your eyes. Your eyes are a little darker, your hands are very warm, and you really have to stop running your tongue over your lower lip." He growled.

"I love you." She said. She then reluctantly let go of his hand and reached for her bag. "I'll let you know if we find anything out on the case, and I am looking forward to dinner this evening." She said, sitting up to look at him, she reached for the door handle. "Have a nice afternoon." She said, opening the door.

"You too, Bones." He said. "I love you."

"Be safe." She said, watching him nod in agreement, as she closed the door and walked toward the building. He watched her until she disappeared inside, and paused for another moment before quietly making his way back toward the Hoover building.

* * *

Brennan walked to the lab quickly, hurrying her way through the doors. She headed directly for her office, her bag hanging over her shoulder. She heard someone calling to her and turned sharply, noticing that Cam was approaching her. "Doctor Brennan, can I have a word with you?" Cam asked.

"Yes." She said, turning back toward her office, she could hear Cam's shoes hitting the floor. She reached her office and set her bag down beside her desk. She looked up at Cam curiously. "I would have returned earlier, but we got stuck in traffic." She said, and though her tone was a bit uneasy, it seemed that what Cam had to say had nothing to do with her being late.

"Is Seeley alright?" She asked.

"Booth? Booth is fine." She said, lifting her bag to the desk, she pulled her case folders from it. "Why?"

"So you didn't notice that he was acting a little weird at the crime scene?" Cam asked, narrowing her eyes. She knew well enough from after Booth's brain surgery, that Brennan knew every single nuance of Booth's life, from the hand he held his coffee in, to the foot he would lead with when he walked up stairs.

Brennan could see that Cam was reading her, and her penetrating stare began to make her feel a bit uncomfortable. "He seemed a little quiet, I suppose." She shrugged. She noticed as a text message popped up on her phone, out of the line of sight of Cam. She knew who it was and found it odd how increasingly difficult it had become not to smile when she knew he was thinking about her.

"Exactly." Cam said, happy that Brennan also saw what she saw. "He was quiet, and polite, and…" She paused for a moment. "Did he meet someone in Afghanistan, is he seeing someone now?" She asked, watching as Brennan seemed to become uncomfortable suddenly. Cam watched Brennan shift slightly, her face a bit more pale. "Oh, um… sorry." She shook her head. "I... I just... I don't know why this is bothering me so much. Forget I said anything." She said. She looked toward the door. "Remains are arriving." She said, watching as Brennan nodded. "I'll see you out there." Cam said, turning to walk quickly from Brennan's office.

Brennan paused for a moment, hearing Cam's retreating footsteps, and glanced down at her phone. She looked at the phone and couldn't help but smile at the message. It was just one word, but he could hear his voice, and tone. "Trouble." She whispered, before she slipped her phone into her pocket, sucked in a deep breath, grabbed the case file, and dropped the smile from her lips. She then quickly marched her way out to the waiting victim.


	4. Back to Business

The moment Brennan stepped out to the platform, she snapped into Doctor mode. It was as if no time had passed at all. Clark was assisting her, and while she had no preference for whomever was going to help, she was thankful that it was someone who would keep his opinions and thoughts to himself. She worked quickly and efficiently with Cam and Clark, conversing now and again with Hodgins as he did his particulate thing.

"Doctor Brennan?" Cam said, gaining her attention as she worked on removing any remaining organs. "It looks like the victim has given birth, and somewhat recently." Cam said, watching as Brennan moved toward the woman's lower half, she examined the remains closely.

"I'll let Booth know." She said, nodding. "We need to get an identification as soon as possible. We don't know where her child is." Brennan said, seemingly calm, though inside she could feel the panic bubbling in her stomach. "I'll speak with Angela as well." She said. "Perhaps she can get a sketch from the photos, since we don't have the skull ready for reconstruction yet." She said, watching Cam nod. She quickly excused herself and made her way toward Angela's office first.

* * *

Brennan walked into Angela's office, her face showing the concern and fear that she was currently feeling. She was slowly beginning to feel more comfortable displaying her emotions to Angela. "Hey, Sweetie. I haven't seen you all morning." Angela said, looking up to see that Brennan was distraught. "What's going on?"

"The victim." Brennan sighed, trying to keep her emotions in check. "She was a young mother, and we need to see if we can get her identified as soon as possible. She has a child, and with her body dumped, we want to ensure that the child is safe." She said quickly.

It was clear to Angela that Brennan was upset about the situation, and while it may not have been obvious to anyone else, she could almost see the panic in her eyes. "We'll figure it out, Sweetie." She said, watching her friend nod. "We do this all the time. We'll figure it out."

"The remains are not quite ready yet for a reconstruction, but I was thinking that perhaps you'd be able to make some progress just using the photographs and the computer, and... maybe your intuition?" She said, chewing on her lip for a moment.

"Intuition?" Angela said, her eyes widening. "Did you just..."

"Gut?" Brennan replied.

"Bren, if you want to keep this thing between you and Booth a secret around here, you had better not say stuff like that in front of them." She said, pointing her thumb out to the rest of the lab. "Booth's gotten into your pretty little scientist brain and shaken it all up, hasn't he?" She asked, smiling at her friend.

"Yes." Brennan said simply, refusing to say more. "I just want to find out who this woman is, and I don't care how we do it." She said, knowing once again that she shouldn't have said that, just based upon the look on Angela's face. "I just... I ..." She stammered as she waved her hand around, trying to find her words.

"Oh, ring." Angela said, noting the gold band on Brennan's ring finger, she noticed how Brennan stopped stammering and her other hand went instinctively to the ring, as if she had forgotten it was on her hand. "Is that the...?"

"Yes." Brennan said, holding her hand out to Angela. "Tasteful and subtle. It blends in with my other jewelry." She said softly, thankful for a moment of distraction.

"I love the engraving." Angela said, referring to the dolphins that were engraved in the band. "That man has very good taste." She smiled.

"Mmm." Brennan said, lifting her eyebrows at Angela, she could see that her friend was stifling a laugh and grinned. "I cannot argue with you there." She sighed as her smile dropped off her face. She sighed, and it was clear that she was getting back to business. "I have Clark uploading the pictures of the skull onto the server with any other data that he can provide. I need to call Booth and let him know what's going on. Thank you for your help." She said.

"It's no problem, Sweetie. No problem at all." She said as she watched Brennan march out of her office.

* * *

Brennan sat down at her desk, staring at the phone for a moment as she tried to calm her nerves. She wasn't sure why she was feeling so emotional about the child of the victim, but her stomach was twisting thinking of the child alone somewhere, or having been taken by the murderer, or worse. There were dozens of scenarios that were playing out in her head, and with each successive one, she could feel her panic ramp up just a little more. She took a deep breath and lifted the receiver, dialing Booth's number without even thinking. She could hear a bit of rushing in his voice as he answered, barking out his name at her. "Booth?" She said, and immediately noticed that the shuffling in the background stopped. He clearly just stopped everything as soon as he heard her voice.

"What's up? You sound worried." Booth said, hearing a slight nervous laugh on the other end of the line.

"I said exactly one word." She replied.

"So, was I right?" He asked, listening to some of the concern drop from her voice, though he could sense the tension.

"I am concerned, yes. The victim has given birth recently. She has a child, and I'm concerned that something has happened to the child." She sighed. "I am having Angela run a rough sketch of the victim, and she'll send it to you when she gets something for you to run through the missing person's database."

"A rough sketch?" Booth asked.

"We don't have the skull to work on a reconstruction yet, but because this is a high priority, I'm having Angela take some liberties. I trust her skills." Brennan said seriously. "Is that alright?"

"Yes." Booth said, waiting for a moment. "You're okay?" He asked.

"I'm perfectly fine." She replied, unsure why he'd ask. She listened to his silence for several moments, thinking of why he'd wonder about her wellbeing. She knew that he knew her well, so she sighed. "Just concerned." She finally said.

"I know." He said, his tone was soft. "We'll work hard on this, and we'll get it figured out, Bones. It'll be okay."

"I appreciate your diligence." She said, smiling slightly on the line as she released a small sigh. "I will meet you at the diner at six this evening."

"Unless I see you sooner." He said, listening to her light laugh. "I love you, Bones."

"I love you." She said softly into the line, knowing that it was risky, but also feeling the need to reciprocate her feelings to him. The freedom that she had felt the previous two weeks only showed her that life was far too short to hold back your feelings. She listened to the light click of the phone and put her own back on the receiver. She took a moment to collect herself, calm the butterflies in her stomach after speaking with him, and after another moment or two, she went back out into the lab to continue her examination.


	5. Dine & Dash

**Hey Folks! Thank you for your reviews and kind words. Reviews keep the brain box spinning, so keep it up. I have no idea what I'm doing here, but I'm just gonna keep doing it... feel free to toss some ideas... who knows.  
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The bell on the diner door chimed an entrance, and when Booth looked up, he had to stifle a grin that was threatening. Brennan on the other hand, didn't even bother to hide her happiness at seeing him, her smile was as bright as the late August sun outside, and his heart felt warm just being in her presence. He was tempted to roll his eyes at his nearly giddy excitement at having her near, but was quickly reminded as she sat down that it was nothing to be ashamed of, his love for her. "Hey, Beautiful." He said softly, watching her eyes flick up to meet his, she seemed surprised. "What? I can't say that you're beautiful?"

"You can do and say whatever you wish, wherever you feel comfortable." She said, watching the smile she had been waiting for to arrive at his lips, she could feel her cheeks burning slightly. "I apologize for running behind. We were running some tests."

"No need for an apology. What you do in the lab with your brain is your own business." He said, watching her mouth drop slightly. "I missed you." He said softly, looking up at the waitress. Brennan seemed to be trying to find her thoughts, and he quickly ordered his dinner. He glanced to her and smiled, then quickly ordered hers as well. When the waitress was out of earshot, he grinned.

"I missed you too." She said softly. "Any word on the sketch?" She asked, the worry was evident in her voice, and he resisted the urge to reach across the table to take her hand in his.

"Nothing yet, but it's possible that the skull reconstruction will be closer." He said, watching her nod.

"I don't understand why this is affecting me so much more now than it ever has before. Do you think being together will have a negative effect? Do you think the fact that we're so close is making me too emotional? Do you think…?" She rambled, suddenly feeling his hand on hers. She stopped and stared at his hand for a moment.

"You are human, Bones." He said, watching her brow furrow and she swallowed hard. "You're just feeling emotional, and that's okay. It's normal, it's natural. Being sensitive isn't something you should be ashamed of." He replied, his hand still setting on hers. He watched her stare at their hands. After another moment, her hand turned and grasped his tightly, and her eyes lifted to his. "I missed you too." He whispered.

"I got so used to having you close. I can literally feel my body react to us being apart. I don't like it." She whispered, feeling his strong grip on her hand. "I apologize for my apparent neediness." She said, starting to pull her hand away, he held it tightly for a moment.

"Looks like I'm needy too." He said, watching her smile slightly and slide her hand from his, a sly smile on her lips as she watched him raise his eyebrows at her. "Keep looking at me like that, and everyone in this diner is going to know exactly how I feel about you." He whispered across the table.

She shook her head and laughed as she sat back, glancing out the window toward the street. "Cam mentioned your behavior again. She asked if you had met someone in Afghanistan."

"What did you tell her?" He asked, watching her shrug. "You didn't tell her anything?"

"I think she realized that it wasn't really her business, and then excused herself." Brennan said softly. "I mean, you did meet someone there. So, if I were to tell her that, I wouldn't be lying."

"Speaking of that…" He said, watching her eyebrow raise. "I mean the meeting someone thing, not the lying thing." He chuckled nervously. "Hannah wanted to know if I could meet her for lunch tomorrow." He said, looking down at the silverware at the table, he looked back up at her. "Did you want to join us?"

She sensed a bit of pause in his voice, and instantly began to feel self-conscious. "It's not necessary." She replied. "I may not be available tomorrow." She said, somewhat shortly, her eyes focusing now on the waitress as she walked toward the table with their dinner. Brennan didn't continue the conversation, and instead just began to eat. She could feel his eyes on her, and after a moment she looked up to the exact expression that she expected to see. "I'm fine with it. I trust you and we don't have to spend every spare moment together. It's fine. I'm fine. We're fine. Everything is just fine." She said, focusing on her food, but feeling completely flustered at the moment. She was feeling a wave of emotion that she couldn't explain, and couldn't turn off, and it was making her stomach twist.

"You're saying fine an awful lot." He said, watching her look back up at him and her eyes narrow. "I want you to be there. I enjoy showing you off and being proud of our relationship. I love you, Bones." He said, keeping his voice down as she watched him and shoved a fry in her mouth. Her eyes moved back to her dinner, and he could see that she was thinking.

"I'm not a prized horse." She responded, watching Booth's expression change to confusion. "I don't need to be shown off." She corrected. "I'd really like to concentrate on the case. I won't be comfortable until we find this woman's identity." She sighed. "Where are you having lunch?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow as she moved her eyes back down to her plate.

"Founding Fathers." He said, watching her continue to eat. He could see that she was breathing heavily through her nose as she listened to him. "What? It's neutral territory and it's not the diner."

"I like the diner." She said, looking up at him, a shadow of anger in her eyes. "It's a casual place where friends meet. It has no pretense."

"Bones." He said in a tone that he immediately regretted. She could hear the warning and coddling that was within that tone, and her stomach immediately twisted again and it showed on her face. "First of all, I have no interest in Hannah. Second of all, it'll be in the middle of the afternoon, and I'll be going back to work afterwards. It's not like it's a romantic dinner or even a drink. I can't drink when I'm working." He said, hoping to quell any worries she might have.

"I'm not hungry anymore." She mumbled, reaching for her bag, she pulled her wallet out.

"Bones, come on." He said, reaching for her hand when she dropped money for her dinner beside his plate, but she pulled away. "Bones, just sit down, relax. You don't have to go."

"I do have to go. I have work to do. I haven't been feeling well this afternoon, and my stomach hasn't been agreeable today. I'm just not very hungry." She explained.

"I thought we were going home after dinner." He said, watching her stand up and grab her bag.

"You can go home." She said, still refusing to look over at him. "I am going to go back to the lab for a few hours, and then I'll go home." She said.

"Bones, stop." He said, his voice was a bit forceful, and she did stop. She looked over at him and could see that he wasn't pleading, he was getting upset. He could see the stubborn look in her eyes, and knew that it was fruitless to argue. "It's fine." He said, waving her off. "Just go to the lab, go do what you have to do. I'll see you later." He said, knowing that all she was asking for was a little time to herself. She was feeling defensive and worried, and nothing he was going to say was going to quell those worries.

"I need to focus on the case." She said, feeling a wave of guilt for making him upset. "Booth, it's important to me."

"I know." He said, watching her look down toward him. He shrugged. "So, go to the lab, it's fine. I'll just finish my dinner and go home."

"I'm not upset about lunch tomorrow." She replied. "I know she's just a friend." She replied.

"Mm…" He said, nodding as he popped a fry into his mouth and shrugged. He looked back down at his dinner, and continued to eat.

She paused for several moments, watching him, and let out a gentle sigh. "Okay, I love you. I'll see you tomorrow." She said very softly.

"See ya." He said, taking another bite, he looked up to see her walking quickly toward the door. It was then when what she had just said bounced through his mind. "Wait, what?" He said, dropping his next fry, but by then she was already out the door and heading quickly toward the lab.


	6. Thought Collection

As soon as Booth realized what had just happened, he stood up and dropped money onto the table for his meal. He pushed out his chair and quickly made a beeline for the door. He stepped outside and realized she had already turned the corner. With a loud huff, he made his way toward the SUV and climbed inside, his key already poised at the ignition. With a quick twist of his wrist, the car was started and on its way. He followed the way that she typically took to the lab, and could see her quickly walking down the sidewalk. Instead of embarrassing her and himself on the street, he drove for the lab. He parked in the garage and took the elevator upstairs, knowing that he'd be at least a minute or two ahead of her quick pace that way. He stood and waited in the hallway, and the surprise on her face when she saw him waiting was just a quick flash before she attempted to walk past him toward the doors.

"Bones?" He said, watching her look toward him as she scanned her card. "What do you mean you'll see me tomorrow?"

"You came all the way over here for that? We could have had this conversation on the phone." She replied, watching the doors open, she knew that he was going to be right on her heels. She walked quickly toward her office, and he practically ran to keep up with her.

"Bones." He said again, taking a step back when she turned around quickly toward him. "Why are you walking away so quickly. What has gotten into you?"

"I don't know what that means." She said, clearing her throat. "I told you that I was coming back to the lab to work. I don't understand what the problem is. I told you how important this case was, you said that you understood."

"I do understand." He said, trying not to get upset.

"Then why are you here?" She asked.

"I don't know." He said, watching her stare into his eyes as if she were listening intently, though he knew that she was simply masking her frustration with him. "I mean… I mean, I know why I'm here right now, it's because you… because I am… I…"

"Clearly you need a moment to yourself to collect your thoughts." She said, turning sharply to walk into her office.

Booth closed his eyes, counting to five slowly. He took a deep breath and turned, walking into her office. She was sitting at her desk, looking at the screen as she navigated with her mouse. "Did you figure out what you wished to speak to me about?" She asked.

"You're angry with me." He said, watching her look up at him.

"I'm not angry with you." She replied, looking back to her screen. She continued scrolling through a few pages, and looked up at him. "Was that all you wanted to say?" She asked.

"Stop." He said. "Just stop pretending that you're not upset with me and have a conversation with me. Talk to me, Bones."

"I don't understand. You'd prefer that I be angry with you?" She asked, still refusing to look up at him.

"I'd prefer that you show your damn emotions, and stop acting like a goddamned robot!" He exclaimed, instantly regretting his words when her eyes snapped up filled with fire and anger. "Bones." He said, his eyes wide with sorrow for his words. His mouth was dry, his heart racing as he watched her clench her jaw. "I'm sorry... Just... Just talk to me."

"You may leave now." She said, curling her fingers as she made two fists. "I have nothing more to say to you."

"Bones."

"Go, Booth. Go before you say something else that you may regret." She said, watching him shift on his feet.

"I love you." He said, watching her eyes focus on him. "I love you, and I just don't want you to be upset. I need you to talk to me. I don't want to be shut out. I love you, Bones." He said, taking a step back toward the door. "I'll go." He whispered.

She watched him stand nearly desperately at the doorway. "I love you." She said, watching some of the fear in his eyes flicker out, and his face soften slightly. "I just wish to have a little time alone, please. I will see you later." She said.

"I don't want you to think that I'm walking away from you. I don't want you to think that I don't care about your feelings." He said, still standing at the doorway.

She watched him carefully, breathing slowly through her nose. "I don't see the point of you having an intimate lunch with a former lover." She said, knowing full well that it sounded petty and childish. "That part of your life is over, and you have no feelings for this woman, so why bother developing a friendship that has no purpose other than to upheave our relationship and my feelings?"

"You're feeling jealous." He said, watching her impatient glare return.

"Yes. I feel jealous, and I hope that goes to prove your robot theory to be false." She said, feeling a lump forming in her throat.

"Bones, you know that I didn't mean that. You know that I regretted it the moment it came out of my mouth." He said, stepping forward, he moved around her desk, turning her in her chair as he knelt to her level. "I know that you are one of the most giving, feeling people in my world. You're genuine and your feelings are important to me. I need you to be honest with me, and tell me what your heart wants. We promised there would be no more keeping things to ourselves."

"When did we promise that?" She asked, the pout was evident.

"The moment that we admitted our love to one another, Bones." He said, holding her hands in his. "If you don't want me to have lunch with her, then just say it." He said, holding her hands.

"It would be childish to demand that you do as I say. I trust you, and you are a grown man that can make your own decisions." She sighed. "It's my own emotions and feelings that I need to get ahold of. You have done nothing wrong." She sighed. "Other than call me a robot… something of which you will be regretting for a very long time." She said, sending the corner of her lip up slightly as she watched him shake his head with a slight smile.

"I love you." He said, touching her cheek with his fingertips. "I chose Founding Fathers because it's not as visible as the diner. Less people that we work with go there in the afternoon, so there wouldn't be any confusion about our relationship when we do finally talk to people about it. The rumor mill, you know?" He said. "It had nothing to do with the ambiance or the setting. It was more so that we, the three of us, could have our privacy." He explained. "Full disclosure." He said. "That was all I was thinking. Trying to avoid the prying eyes of Cam and Sweets, and anyone else who can't keep their traps shut." He said, watching her nod. "Are you still angry with me?"

"No." She said, sighing.

"Do you want me to cancel lunch tomorrow?" He asked.

"No." She shook her head. "I would like to come though, and meet your friend." She whispered.

"Good. I want you to be there." He smiled genuinely. "I love you."

"I love you." She swallowed hard. "It causes me physical discomfort when we argue." She whispered.

"Same here." He said, leaning up to kiss her gently, she put her hands on his face and rested her forehead against hers. "Do you want to stay here for a little while?" He asked.

"Yes, please."

"Okay." He nodded.

"I will come to your place." She said, glancing at her watch. "About an hour. I would like to be surrounded by you tonight."

"Oh, don't you worry about that." He said, smiling that cocky smile that made her want to kiss it right off his lips. "I'll see you soon." He said, leaning to kiss her again, he listened to the slight whimper against his lips as he broke off the kiss and stood up. "I'll be waiting for you." He said, taking a step back.

"I'll see you soon." She said, watching him for a moment, she took a deep emotion filled breath and released it. "I love you."

"I love you." He said with a gentle wink, as he gave her a slight wave and then quietly left her to herself in her office.


	7. Prelude to a Conversation

**I may have derailed this story... let me know... It's so hard without a beta.**

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Booth was just turning off the water in the bathtub when he heard the door to his apartment close, the deadbolt swinging to latch it.

"Booth?" She called, her voice was weary and worn and he walked around the corner just as she dropped her bag beside the couch, turning to face him.

"Hey." He smiled.

"Hey." She replied, a look of confusion on her face as he hung around the corner of the room, just looking across at her. "What were you doing when I got here?"

"Nothing much." He smiled innocently.

"You have the same exact look on your face that Parker gets when he is sneaking a cookie before dinner." She said, watching his jaw drop playfully. "You two are far too alike."

"I drew you a bath." He said, watching her eyebrows lift curiously.

"A bath?" She asked, a slight smile on her lips.

"I was just heading to the kitchen to get you some wine." He said, turning toward the kitchen.

"Wine?" She asked curiously, a smile on her face. "What is all of this?" She asked, watching him pull the corkscrew from the drawer, he glanced to her and continued what he was doing.

"It's an apology." He said simply.

"An apology for what?" She asked, stepping up beside him, she watched as he carefully opened a bottle of red wine. He reached up and pulled down a glass, and then poured wine into to the glass for her. He picked up the glass and turned, handing it over to her.

"For saying some stupid things earlier." He said, dropping a kiss on her cheek. "Go enjoy your bath." He whispered tenderly in her ear and walked past her.

"You're not coming too?" She asked, turning to face his exit.

He turned to look at her. "You deserve some alone time, Bones. You should have some time to relax."

"But you help me relax." She said, tipping her head. The pout was evident as she stood there with her glass in her hand. "Please join me?"

"Are you sure?" He asked, taking a step toward her, she looked up at him and could feel his fingertips as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, you were so sweet in getting it ready for me." She said with a sigh. "And I haven't seen much of you all day." She said, pulling herself closer to him. Her eyes lifted to his, and she could see that he was already bending a bit. "Please?" She whispered.

"Alright." He whispered into her hair. "Go on and get inside, and I'll be right in." He said, watching as her eyes met his with a happy twinkle. "You're beautiful." He said, capturing her smile with his lips for a moment.

She looked into his eyes for another moment, and then carefully made her way around him toward the bathroom. Booth watched her disappear around the corner and made himself busy for a few minutes as he let her relax in the bathtub. He could hear the gentle splashing of the water, and a light humming that made his heart soar.

He just picked up his own glass of wine and the bottle when he heard her calling for him. He stepped into the bathroom and smiled at her curious eyes. "What was taking you so long?" She asked.

"Well, aren't you needy?" He asked, watching her eyes narrow, she watched him place his glass and the bottle on the table beside the tub, and prepare himself to climb in behind her.

"I'm not needy. I just want you." She said with a playful pout.

He slipped into the bathtub behind her, pulling her body into him as she let out a satisfied groan. "Mmmm…" He groaned himself, instantly melting into the warmth of the tub, with Brennan tucked up against him. He carefully pulled his glass of wine from the table. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"With you, I feel wonderful." She replied. "Work, however. I'm concerned."

"I know." He whispered. "We'll solve this. We always do." He said, moving her hair to drop kisses on her neck, she sighed gently against him. "I love you."

"I love you." She whimpered, tipping her head back on his shoulder. "You are very good at what you do." She said, listening to him hum against her skin. "I'm so glad that I came here." She whispered.

"Mm… I am too." He said, kissing beneath her ear, he listened to a small squeak, and a gentle moan as she pushed herself a little further back into him.

They enjoyed their bath for several minutes, whispering and kissing as they sipped at their wine, gently enjoying one another's company, when it was suddenly interrupted by the shrill ring of Booth's phone in the next room.

"No…" She groaned, feeling his head snap in the direction of the phone. "We were just getting comfortable." She huffed.

"I know, I know." He said, shifting a little. "Maybe it's nothing." He said, hearing the phone stop ringing. "See that, it was nothing." He said, listening to her sigh. He kissed her neck just to hear her squeak again.

"Booth, stop." She whined playfully, letting out a giggle. Suddenly, Booth's phone began to ring again.

"Shit." He muttered, kissing her one more time, he gently lifted himself up and out of the bathtub, wrapping himself with a towel. "You stay here and enjoy. I'll be right back." He said, reluctantly leaving her in the bathroom.

Brennan sat in the tub, straining to hear the conversation he was having on the phone. He kept his voice low, and quiet. It was only a few moments, she heard him clearly say that he'd 'be there in about a half hour', and then hung up the phone. She repositioned herself in the bathtub, trying to hide that she had been listening, settling herself in the water as the door opened and Booth walked inside.

"Hey." He said, watching her look up at him curiously. "They think they got a hit on the missing person. Woman was reported missing by her nanny yesterday evening."

"Oh?" Brennan said, nodding solemnly.

"I have to… I have to go out and do some questioning." He said, watching as she started to sit up. "You just stay here. I'm just going to look over Agent Stanley's work, and talk to the nanny, see if I can get a picture of the missing woman to determine if she's the one we're looking for. You stay here, enjoy your bath. I shouldn't be too long if Stanley did everything right."

"But Booth, you were drinking." She said, indicating the wine.

"Two sips of red wine, Bones. I'll be able to shake that off in the time it takes me to get ready." He said, leaning down to kiss her gently. "It takes me more time to shake off what you do to me." He winked as she grinned. "Stay here, enjoy the bath, and I will call you when I know anything."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" She asked.

"I want you to enjoy your evening. We'll have plenty of work to do tomorrow." He said. "I love you." He said, stepping out of the bathroom.

"I love you. Be safe." She said, listening to him assure her as the door closed behind him.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when she finally settled into his bed alone. She had heard briefly from Booth at a little after 9 that he was sure that the woman they had found was the woman that had gone missing. A thirty-two year old single mother of a six month old son, Michael. Elizabeth Danby. She had left for a jog that morning and hadn't returned. The child was in the process of being handed over to child services, and Booth had to wait until the transfer was made. Brennan lay on her side, staring at the pillow on the other side of the bed that was waiting for its occupant. She breathed in the scent of his pillows and sheets, surrounding herself with the scent that was inherently 'Booth'. She let out a groan as she covered herself with the blankets and closed her eyes in hopes of finding some sleep.

* * *

She was driving, but it was dark outside, the headlights off as she moved over the road with just fog lights, lighting only a foot or two in front of her. She continued down the road toward an unknown destination. She felt cold, like the air conditioning was blasting and she reached down to adjust the temperature, finding that the knobs on the console were gone. She reached to turn on the headlights and found no such control. She reached her foot for the brake, and found no brake, only an accelerator. She could feel the panic in her chest as she continued to drive forward, unable to slow down, unable to stop, unable to see.

She closed her eyes. "It's a dream." She said to herself, feeling the car start to pick up speed. "It's a dream. It's just a dream." She said again and again as she tried to control the panic. She opened her eyes, her hands holding the steering wheel tightly, when a face flashed before her, Booth standing in the road, his arms extended as he tried to brace for impact. "NO!" She exclaimed, yanking on the steering wheel to avoid him, closing her eyes. She heard a loud thwump as the car hit something, skidding to the side, it spun once, twice, and it finally came to rest, smoke rising from the hood of the car. She could smell rubber, blood, and sweat.

"No." She whimpered. "No! No! It was a dream! It was a dream. It doesn't make sense!" She exclaimed as she tried to grab the door handle to open the car door, finding nothing. "No! Booth! No!" She screamed, kicking at the door with her feet. "No! Booth!" She screamed, pounding on the door again and again as she started to sob. She could hear the sound of rain, and in the distance a baby crying. She gasped for air as she tried to catch her breath, her eyes flying open, finding herself in darkness, wrapped tightly in the sheets and blankets, she struggled and sobbed as she tried to find her way out, unable to breathe.

"Bones." Booth's voice appeared suddenly. "Bones, stop. Stop struggling. It's okay." He said, his arms around her as he tried to unravel her from the blankets. "I've got you. Hang on. Hang on." He whispered as she clawed at the sheets. "Bones. I'm trying to get you out. Hang on." He said, finally freeing her arms.

"Booth." She sobbed, reaching for his shirt, she pulled at the fabric, feeling a button pop off in her hand. "Booth." She huffed, feeling his arms around her as he gathered her up in his arms. "Booth." She whispered.

"I've got you." He whispered. "It's okay. It's okay." He kissed her temple gently as he rocked her in his arms. "I've got you, baby. I'm here. I'm okay."

"Booth?" She whispered, catching his eyes in the light of the moon shining in through the window, she watched the slight smile on his face as she came back into the woken world.

"Hmm…?" He hummed, watching her brow furrow.

"Is that a baby crying?" She whispered, hearing the muffled sound of a child crying from the next room over.

"Uh, yes." He said, a slightly sheepish smile on his face, as he pulled her toward him, holding her close to him as he tried to stop her trembling. "Yes it is. We should probably talk." He whispered into her hair, dropping a gentle kiss atop her head.


	8. Small Village of Motherless Children

Brennan stared at Booth for several moments, her eyes wide as she tried to find words to explain her confusion. She listened to the baby crying, and stared at Booth blankly for several moments. "I… should probably go get him." Booth said, nodding toward the door. "Are you okay? I'll be right back. Let me go get him. Hang on." He said as he kissed her and hurried from the room.

"What? Who? Booth?" She said suddenly, unable to fully comprehend what was going on. Her mind was still reeling from her nightmare and his saving her from it. Her body was trembling, and the squeaking cry of the baby in the next room was only sending sparks of confusion into her brain. "Booth? Where did you go?" She asked, flicking on the bedside light.

After a moment, the crying stopped, and she could hear Booth's low voice talking to someone in the next room as she sat on the bed, trying to sort everything out in her sleep addled mind. She glanced to the clock, and she noted that it was nearly three in the morning. Her attention then went to the door as it opened slowly. Booth stepped into the room, gently whispering to a bundle in his arms. Sticking out from the blankets was a head of downy black hair standing this way and that. "Bones." He said softly as he approached her, sitting beside her on the bed. "I want you to meet Michael." He whispered, bouncing the baby slightly as the baby rested his head on Booth's shoulder, his fingers in his mouth as he suckled them anxiously, making little grunting noises as he soothed himself.

"Michael?" She whispered, watching him as his hands gently rubbed the baby's back, tracing circle across the soft blue pajamas that the little boy was wearing. "Booth, why…? We can't…Booth?" She stammered, unable to fully express her thoughts. She watched the baby's dark blue eyes as he stared across at her, curious and wide as Booth held him, soothing his worries as he held him close.

"The mother had no next of kin as far as we can find at this point. The baby's father has been out of the picture for a while, so we had to call social services. And since its three in the morning, and I haven't gotten any sleep, and child protective services was taking their sweet time coming to get him, and I just…We don't know what happened to his mother, he could be in danger, so I took protective custody of him, and you know, you're a registered foster parent. It'll be fine. We're perfectly capable of taking care of him together."

"You had him signed over to me?" She asked, reaching for the baby. "Booth, what were you thinking?" She asked, though kept her voice soft and upbeat, the baby went willingly to Brennan, his hands grabbing at her shirt, his face burying in her neck as she held him. Her voice was soft and motherly, and he found it soothing.

"I was thinking that we can help him. It's basically a joint custody deal." He said. "I signed the paperwork and put you down as a co-guardian, since you're an approved foster parent."

"Booth?" She said again, breathing in the gentle baby scent, it was difficult not to be intoxicated by it and it was clear that she was falling under its spell. "Booth, we can't… I mean, I… I can't…"

"You said you wanted a small village of motherless children, Bones." He said, reaching over to gently rub the baby's back. He could tell by the way she was holding the infant that she was protective of him in only the few moments since she had met him.

"I didn't mean immediately, Booth." She said, running her fingers over the baby's light, feathery hair. She could see in the dim light of the room that he had fallen asleep quite quickly against her.

"Now is as good of a time as any. Look at him, Bones. He's got nobody." He said softly. "Poor little guy. He's got nobody."

Brennan looked up at Booth, watching the way he was looking at the baby in her arms, with awe and concern. The baby let out a little cooing noise as he slept, cuddling deeper into Brennan's arms. She sighed softly as she kissed the baby's head. "He has us, Booth." She said, hearing Booth's gentle sigh of relief, she looked into his eyes to see the love and warmth that she craved and would do anything for sparkling back at her. "He has us." She whispered, kissing the baby's head again as she closed her eyes and gently rocked him.

* * *

Booth watched her for several moments, as Brennan gently held the baby, rocking him in her arms. She looked up at him and he could immediately see the fast motion movie that was railing through her mind. He was about to try to reassure her when suddenly every question that was on her mind burst forth like a dam breach. "Booth? What are we going to do with him? How long do we have him? What are we going to tell people if nobody knows that we're together?" She asked, all in quick succession, and it was clear she was starting to panic. "Where is he going to sleep? We don't have items to properly care for a baby. How are we going to solve the case when we have him? Why are you just standing there looking at me like that? You're not answering any of my questions." She said, kissing the baby's head again without thinking.

"Hey, hey… don't worry." He whispered, crouching down to look her in the eyes. "We have him for about 48-72 hours, maybe a little longer. It'll give Child Protective Services enough time to find him an emergency foster home." He said softly. "The nanny gave me one of those portable playpen things that he can sleep in, diapers, formula, and a few changes of clothes. He's okay, he's set." He said, moving to the bed, he sat beside her, pulling her close as she began to rock the baby again. "As for people? We'll just go with the flow, okay? We'll just continue with our work, and our life outside of work and if anyone questions it, we'll just tell them to mind their own business. We've kept an eye on a victim's baby before. It's not a big deal if we don't treat it like a big deal."

"It is a big deal." She sighed, feeling the baby pull himself even tighter against her, she rubbed his back and rocked him. "It's such a big deal." She said softly. "I don't know what to do." She sighed. "What about tomorrow? What about our jobs?" She sighed.

"We can probably get him into the Jeffersonian daycare during the day. It's a safe, secure facility. It's close to you." Booth said softly. "It's just a couple of days, I am sure they can accommodate for you, Bones."

"Daycare?" She whispered, lifting the baby from her shoulder to her arms, cradling him tenderly in her lap, she looked down at his long dark eyelashes, his tiny nose as it wiggled in his sleep. "Booth, his mother just..." She swallowed the last word, her fingertips touching the baby's fingers as he slept. "We need to find who did this to his mother." She said. "He's so small, so…" She whimpered, feeling herself starting to unravel. "Booth?" She whimpered, looking up at him, he gave her a gentle smile of reassurance.

"We do need to find who did this." He nodded, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "We do, and we will." He said, feeling her nod against him. He waited a moment or two, and she said nothing, and he tried to get her to look at him. She instead stared down at the sleeping baby in her arms, and let out a shuddering sigh. "Are you okay?" he whispered tenderly.

"I'll be okay." She sighed. "I just… I feel like I'm not in control anymore." She whispered, looking to Booth. "I let myself feel so much with you. I let myself just… live… and I just… I don't feel like I have any control over who I am anymore." She said, tears coming to her eyes. She could see the concern in his face and shook her head.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "If this is too much, I mean…"

"No, no." She shook her head, letting the tears fall down her cheeks. "It's okay, it's good. It's good that I don't have control all of the time. And while it's frightening sometimes…" She sniffled. "While it is absolutely, positively terrifying at times… and it was the um… the subject of my last nightmare." She cleared her throat. "I think that it's good for me. I lock myself up too much. I fight against it. I need to feel more. I need to look past what I already know and take risks." She whispered, looking down at the baby as she leaned back a bit into Booth. "He's a beautiful child."

"He is." Booth said, pulling Brennan closer. "Do you want me to put him in the playpen, so that you can get a little more sleep?" He asked.

"No." She said, shaking her head a little wistfully. "I'm okay. I"m not very tired anymore." She sighed. "You need to get some sleep." She said, looking toward him. "Get into bed, I'll take care of him."

"Are you sure?" He asked, watching her tip her head and shake it at him, a small smile on her lips.

"You've had a very long day with all of the rescuing that you've been doing. Get some sleep." She said softly. "We'll be okay."

"His things are in the living room, there's a bottle in the refrigerator if he's hungry. His diapers are in the…"

"I've got it, I've got it… just get into the bed and be quiet." She said, watching him narrow his eyes playfully. "I love you." She said, leaning toward him slightly, he dropped a kiss on her lips and looked into her eyes.

"Babies look good on you, Bones." He winked, watching her eyes roll slightly as she let out a little laugh.

"Bed, and hush." She said, lifting an eyebrow as she stole another kiss, and watched him smile before he quickly got ready to climb into bed beside her and little Michael.


	9. Up For The Challenge

Booth's alarm jolted him from his dreamless slumber, sending his hand flinging over the edge of the bed to smack into the clock to turn it off. He'd only been sleeping for three hours, and when he groaned and rolled to his back, he expected to find Brennan fending off the morning with the blankets over her head. However, her side of the bed was empty, and it appeared she hadn't been there for quite a long time.

He climbed from the bed, pulling on his t-shirt as he headed toward the bathroom first. He listened for any sounds in the family room and heard nothing. His brow was furrowed as he finished in the bathroom, shuffling out into the bedroom, and toward the family room. He opened the door slowly, and very slightly he could hear Brennan's voice. He listened to her very soft voice, but couldn't understand what she was saying and he made a little noise as if to announce his entrance. He turned the corner to see that she was sitting in his recliner chair, baby in her arms, talking in a low voice to him as she rocked him gently and fed him. His dark eyes were staring up at her, and the smile on her face was one to behold as she spoke to the baby in her arms. He could see just by the way she was watching the child in her arms that she was already bonding with him, and emotionally connected to him. It made him equally happy, and concerned.

"Hey." He said softly, hoping that he wouldn't startle her, though he was sure she had heard his alarm not long before. She looked up toward him, her eyes wide with a look that he couldn't quite define or describe, but she seemed happy. "Did you get any sleep?" He asked, stepping toward her.

"I wasn't tired." She said, looking back down at the baby, watching his dark eyes stare up at her, he seemed as captivated by Brennan as she was with him. "He was hungry." She said softly, gently lifting the bottle from Michael's lips, he suckled his lips for a moment and she smiled at him. "Weren't you? You were hungry, huh?" She said tenderly, giving him a little tickle that made him smile and let out a small giggle. She lifted him to her shoulder, patting his back gently to soothe him.

Booth crouched beside her, watching her smile slightly at him. "Do you want me to make you some coffee this morning?"

"Yes, please." She said, patting the baby's back tenderly, she rubbed her hand over his little back, feeling the soft material of his pajamas. She kept her eyes directly on Booth's, and she was fairly certain that he was trying to read her mind. "Do you remember Andy?" She asked, knowing that he would. She watched him smile.

"Of course I remember Andy." He grinned. "Little Andy, our pal." He said, watching her eyes glitter at him. "We made good on our promise to him, Bones. We're going to try to do our very best to make sure Michael's mom gets the same justice."

"We always do our very best." She replied, her tone as serious as ever. "We are the best at what we do."

"And we're going to do the same for Mikey here." He said, reaching out to touch her cheek. "Here, you want me to take him for you so you can get ready?" He asked, watching her nod, and carefully lift the baby to Booth, who cradled him on his arm. Michael fussed a bit as he saw Brennan getting further from his grasp, he let out a mighty yell of frustration, even as Booth bounced him a little. "Hey little man. Hey, Bones isn't going anywhere, she's got to get ready for work." He said, watching the baby simper as he was calmed by Booth's movements, and Brennan stood up, and leaned forward to kiss Michael's forehead. "See, Bones isn't going anywhere." He said softly, watching her eyes lift to look into his. "I love you." He said to her, smiling.

She looked down at Michael and gave him a little tickle. "I love you." She said, running her fingers through the baby's dark hair. She looked up at Booth.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you weren't talking to me when you said that." He said, narrowing his eyes playfully.

"I love you too." She said, looking up to kiss him gently. "I'll be back soon, boys. I'll be ready for my coffee!" She exclaimed as she turned and walked quickly for the bedroom.

* * *

Booth prepared the coffee and walked around with Michael in his arms, explaining what he was doing just to engage the baby. He was pulling mugs down from the cupboard when Brennan walked in. He smiled toward her, and she walked in his direction. "I'll take him." She said, gently taking the baby from Booth's arms. He smiled and moved his other arm to get the second mug, pouring them each a cup of coffee. He turned to see Brennan walking around with Michael on her hip, talking to him as she moved toward the table.

"You really like him." Booth said, catching her eyes when she looked up at him. "He seems to like you a lot."

"He's a sweet baby." She replied. "Very well tempered." She said softly. "You said that he was with a nanny? Does that mean his mother was wealthy?"

"Well, not exactly." He said, pulling down the bagels from the cupboard, he began to prepare one for each of them. "It wasn't a nanny per se, more like a long term babysitter. His mom… our victim…she had two jobs, and little Mikey here spent a lot of time with the babysitter. I just called her a nanny because that was what one of the other agents referred to her as. According to the babysitter, his mom…" He said, walking toward her. He crouched beside her and set her coffee on the table as she sat in a chair with Michael on her lap.

"Elizabeth. Her name was Elizabeth, you said." Brennan said, watching Booth nod.

"Right." He said, understanding that she was making the woman real to her, giving her back her identity by calling her by her name. "Elizabeth had this little guy out of wedlock. Her parents are deceased, and the dad was nowhere, and probably didn't know he even existed. Once we get the positive identification through the lab, we'll be able to look into it more. He might have an aunt or uncle who can take him in." He said, noticing that Brennan's attention went to the baby, as he spoke of finding him a permanent home. "But in the meantime, this little man is under our care." He said, watching her eyes meet his. "I mean, if you're up for the challenge."

She smiled a small smile, looking deep into his eyes. She could see his happiness glittering back at her, the promise and hope. "I am always up for a challenge." She said, kissing the baby's head. "The real challenge though, is going to be solving this case."

"And I'm up for that one." He said, smiling at her. "You'll do your thing, I'll do mine, and we'll meet in the middle just like we always do." Booth replied. He looked up when the toaster's timer ended. "Ah, breakfast." He said, smiling, he leaned up and kissed her gently, and then quickly made his way to attend to their breakfast.


	10. Lunch Date

It was nearly 9:00am when Brennan stepped into the lab, her pace was quick and purposeful as she made her way toward her office. The lab was still working its way to its normal pace, and her absence had been obvious. She was usually the first one there when normal hours started, especially when there was a case.

Angela's head popped into her office, and Brennan looked in her direction. "You're late." She said, watching Brennan's eyes narrow.

"I am well aware of the time." She said, hanging up her bag, she tugged her lab coat from its hook. "However, I was in the building on time. I just had other things to attend to." She said, trying to tamp down her friend's already curious demeanor.

"You were in the building? Where were you?" Angela asked.

"We've identified the victim." She said, watching Angela shake her head disapprovingly at her friend's change of subject. "Elizabeth Danby." She said, moving toward her computer.

"Bren, you're hiding something from me." Angela said.

"Thirty-two year old mother. She lived over in the southeastern area of the city." She said, moving a few things around on her computer, checking a few e-mails as Angela continued to watch her. "Booth was at her apartment last night, and brought the baby home with him last night." She said, staring at her screen.

"Excuse me?" Angela said, her tone moving up several octaves.

"Booth brought the baby home." She said, looking up slowly at Angela. "He had been left with a babysitter, so Booth took protective custody of him and brought him home while the FBI tries to find next of kin."

"A baby. He brought a baby home? A small human?" Angela stated.

"Yes." Brennan said, her brow furrowed at her friend's confusion. "I had to get him situated in the Jeffersonian daycare this morning, which is why I am behind this morning." She said, her voice soft. "We have it under control."

"You have it under control?" Angela asked, staring at Brennan incredulously. "You're going to get attached to that baby, Brennan." Angela said knowingly.

"I am already finding myself quite taken by him." She said, pulling her phone from her pocket, she opened her photographs of one of Michael that morning, and slid the phone to Angela. "This is Michael." She said.

"Oh, Bren." Angela said with a sigh, picking up the phone. "He's so precious." She whispered. "What was Booth thinking? You guys can't take care of a baby and work on the case at the same time." She said.

"We've done it before." She shrugged. "You remember Andy. I think we did quite well caring for him when it was needed. Michael isn't evidence as Andy was, so he will be well taken care of at the daycare here, and Booth and I are quite capable of keeping him fed and comfortable while we solve the case and try to find his family."

"You don't understand, Bren." Angela said, shaking her head as she handed the phone back to her friend. "You're not going to want to give that baby back. And you and Booth are going to be outed faster than ever if you're seen carting around an infant together."

"We're partners. He's law enforcement, and I am a certified foster parent. We spend nearly every waking moment together. The only difference now is that we spend the sleeping moments together too." She said, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, well with little Michael around, I'm guessing there aren't going to be too many sleeping moments in the near future." Angela grinned.

Brennan rolled her eyes and smiled. "Booth has assured me that everything will work out." She said. "If you'll excuse me, I have a few things that I should get done before Booth and I have lunch with his former lover." She stated as if she were reading off a menu.

"Excuse me?" Angela said in the same tone she had said earlier.

Brennan looked up and ran quickly through what she had said, her expression blank.

"Did you just say you were having lunch with…"

"Yes." Brennan said. "It's not a big deal. It's a woman he met in Afghanistan. She is a journalist, and she's in town. Booth said that she was concerned about him. I suspect that we'll meet with her, she will see that he's perfectly fine, and with some luck and a few flashes of my engagement ring, we'll never have to see her again." She said, trying very hard not to smile at her own comment.

Angela laughed. "Better yet, bring the baby with you. That'll send her running faster than a cheetah with its ass on fire." Brennan's eyebrow lifted, staring at her friend blankly for a moment. "Forget I said anything, Bren. That was…"

"No, I'm trying to imagine it." She said, a thoughtful look on her face. She let out a laugh that also made Angela laugh. "Thank you for checking on me." She said. "We should discuss the weapon used based upon the injuries as soon as possible."

"I'll get the computer up and running." Angela said, and then kindly excused herself from the office.

* * *

**12:06pm-**

Booth walked into Founding Fathers a bit distractedly, his eyes on his phone for a moment. He was waiting for Brennan to let him know whether or not she was on her way, and found it odd that she hadn't responded yet. He dialed her number and put the phone to his ear, expecting it to ring, though it went straight to voicemail. When he looked back at his phone, he thought he heard his name being called, and looked up to see a blonde woman sitting in one of the booths at the far side of the bar. Her arm was extended as she waved.

"Seeley!" She called, a bright grin on her face.

Booth checked his phone one more time and walked toward the woman. She pulled him into a strong hug, and he gave her a friendly hug back. "Hey." He smiled, pulling from the hug he watched her smile at him. "You're looking good."

"Thanks. You're looking happy." She remarked, sliding back into the booth.

"I told you that everything was fine with me." He teased, sitting down across from her.

"Where's Temperance?" Hannah asked, noting that Booth had looked back toward the door.

"She should be here any minute. She's usually not late." He shrugged. "We're in the middle of a case, so sometimes she gets wrapped up and time gets away from her." Booth said, glancing back toward the door. He seemed to be getting increasingly agitated, but maintained his cool. "How have you been?"

"Not bad. I haven't gotten in the middle of any fire fights lately, so that's good. Still pushing my luck though." Hannah grinned.

"Yeah, don't push your luck." He said playfully, looking up at the waitress as she stepped toward them.

"Agent Booth." The waitress smiled.

"Hey, Sam. This is a friend of mine, Hannah Burley." He said, smiling politely. "I'll just have a water, still on the clock." He smiled.

"Is Doctor Brennan joining you?"

"Yeah, Bones should be here any..." He said, glancing toward the door when it opened, both women noticed his eyes light up as soon as the dark haired woman stepped inside. They also noticed them widen when they saw the baby on her hip as she looked around for him. "Bones." He mumbled as he stood up. "Excuse me." He said, sliding out of the booth, he made his way quickly toward the woman at the door.

Hannah ordered a drink, and as the waitress stepped away, she watched Booth approach the woman, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw him walking toward her, though quickly it seemed to show a bit of confusion as he spoke to her. He moved into her quickly, dropping a gentle kiss on her lips with gentle fingertips on her cheek, and a smile to the baby in her arms. She continued to watch their interaction.

* * *

"Bones, you can't bring a baby into a bar." He said as he approached her, watching her face flash confusion before it returned to a stubborn scowl. He stepped up to her and immediately kissed her, running his fingers over her skin a moment, the scowl disappeared. "Why did you bring Michael?"

"I felt that it was unfair of him to be in daycare all day. I had some free time during lunch, and while this portion is a bar, where we eat is more of a restaurant." She said, giving him a pointed stare that almost resembled pleading eyes. "It's not as if you or I are going to be drinking, and he was lonely." She said, tipping her head as she watched him slowly acquiesce.

"Don't say it, Bones." He said, lifting an eyebrow.

"He missed you." She said, smiling sweetly at Booth as he grinned, and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, give him here." Booth said, lifting the baby from Brennan's arms, he listened to her gentle giggle as the baby made a squeak of discontent having been taken from Brennan's arms. "He really likes you."

"I am finding that he does enjoy my company." She smiled at the baby, giving his nose a gentle little poke, Michael giggled. "Can he stay?" She asked, tipping her head at Booth, she watched him roll his eyes just slightly as he moved closer to her. "Please?" She whispered. "He'll be a good boy." She said, her eyes big and blue as she fluttered her eyelashes.

"You're nothing but trouble." He whispered.

"That's what they say." She smiled, dropping a kiss on his lips.

"Are you ready to sit down?" He whispered.

"Yes." She nodded, watching his eyes sparkle at her. "I love you."

"I love you, Bones." He said, putting his arm around her shoulder as he walked with her toward the table.


	11. Hannah backwards is hannaH

As they approached the table, Temperance could feel panic rising up in her chest, her stomach suddenly twisting. She hadn't felt that panicked feeling in nearly two weeks, and had nearly forgotten about it. She felt herself slowing down, and Booth could feel it too, sensing that she wasn't quite ready. He turned slightly, as if blocking her from the table across the room, hiding the fear that she held in her eyes suddenly from inquiring eyes. He shifted the baby in his arms a bit. She looked up at him with a surprised expression. "You don't have to if you're uncomfortable."

"I'll be fine." She whispered, smiling slightly. "I have to face my panic head on, Booth." She said, reaching for the baby. "May I have my buffer back, please?" She asked, watching his eyes widen slightly, he clicked his tongue and smiled. "What? You knew that's why I brought him. Angela called him my bouncing baby boy buffer."

"Oh, so this was Angela's idea." He smiled, carefully handing Michael back to Brennan, he could see the relief in her eyes once she had him in arms. She gave him a little shrug before they continued toward the table.

"Temperance." Hannah said, standing up suddenly, she moved to embrace Brennan, who looked over at Booth with a confused expression. He shrugged. "I've heard so much about you from Seeley."

Booth didn't miss the flinch in Brennan's face when Hannah spoke his first name. He was certain that he had flinched as well. He was always comfortable being called by his last name, so much, that it was jarring to hear is first name spoken out loud.

Brennan said nothing as she pulled from the hug with the stranger, her arm full of Michael as he let out a squeak. "And who is this little guy?" Hannah asked, touching the little boy's hand, he immediately turned and buried his head in Brennan's shoulder, holding her tightly.

"This is Michael." Booth said softly, helping Brennan pull the diaper bag from her shoulder, he moved around her and she moved into the booth with the baby, glancing across at Hannah. "He's our charge for the time being. His mother is our most recent case, and Bones is registered foster parent." Booth said, watching as the baby held tightly to Brennan.

"Oh." Hannah said, her smile dropping off as she glanced toward Brennan. "That's awful." She said, looking at the baby sadly.

"He's in very capable hands, though." Booth said, looking over toward Michael, he peeked at Booth. Brennan tickled his belly and he let out a giggle, cuddling into her tightly.

"He's very adorable." Hannah said, feeling quite distant from Booth suddenly, as if Brennan alone had pulled every string of his attention to her. His arm around her shoulder seemed natural, the smile on his face was genuine. It was clear that he wasn't simply putting on a front. He was happy, one hundred percent, without a doubt, happy. "So, you're working on a new case already?" Hannah asked. "You've been in the states what, two weeks?"

"A little over two weeks." Booth shrugged. "Though most of that time was spent on vacation." He said, glancing to Brennan, who nodded, arranging the baby on her lap. "Did you want a high chair for him?" Booth asked, clearly distracted by the baby and Brennan.

"He's fine right where he is." Brennan replied, a slight smile on her lips. "Thank you." She said, placing her hand on his, squeezing it gently.

Hannah watched the silent conversation, observing the two of them carefully. She was about to speak up when the waitress returned to take their order.

* * *

The order was taken quickly, and as they settled in, Hannah immediately noticed the ring on Brennan's finger, the way they leaned into one another, the way that his hand settled on Brennan's. There was a level of attention that he was giving to the other woman without even being aware that he was doing it.

"Booth mentioned that your job is quite dangerous." Brennan said, her hand receiving a slight squeeze from Booth. She could sense his support beside her, keeping her panic and anxiety at bay.

"It can be." She replied confidently. "That's how Seeley and I met. He saved me from some insurgents that were set on kidnapping me." She said. "They had grabbed hold of me, and all of a sudden, this soldier comes out of nowhere and took out the guy. He shot him right between the eyes. We both dropped to the ground, and I thought for sure that I had been shot." She said, watching the seriousness in Booth's eyes.

"I assure you, Booth never misses a target." Brennan said seriously, feeling a bit of anxiety roiling in her stomach.

"Then he arrested me." Hannah chuckled.

"You were in a restricted area." Booth pointed out with a laugh.

"Booth arrested me once." She said, glancing to him. "But that was because I shot someone who was attempting to set me on fire." She shrugged, missing the surprised look on Hannah's face. "So is that when you began your sexual relationship with Booth?" She asked, suddenly feeling Booth's grip on her hand become a little tighter, and a low hissing sound expelled from his lips. She glanced at Booth, and his eyes caught hers. He knew that the question was coming, this was Bones, after all.

Hannah was only slightly taken aback by Brennan's boldness, but held her ground proficiently, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I guess." She shrugged. She could see the other woman bristle just slightly, as if she had more questions but knew that Booth would stop it dead in its tracks. "I bet Parker was happy to see you." She said, remembering Booth's stories of his son, and how much he missed him. She also knew that it would be a safe topic of conversation.

"Oh yeah, he was." Booth grinned, his smile full of pride and happiness. "We took him on a camping trip last week, and let him go wild. It was a lot of fun. Kayaking, hiking, swimming..."

"Water guns." Brennan chimed in, catching Booth's smile.

"Bones threw me in the lake, I threw both of them in the lake." Booth laughed. "There was a lot of lake water swallowed last week." He said, watching Hannah smile.

"It appears we all fared well on that end. Nobody contracted Giardia or Cryptosporidium from the experience." Brennan said, handing Michael a spoon as they spoke. She watched the baby wave it in her face as she smiled, keeping her focus away from the woman sitting across from them.

* * *

The remainder of the lunch was friendly and while Brennan did come out with the occasional awkward question or fact, Hannah didn't appear to mind at all. Michael cuddled Brennan and she fed him as they ate their own lunch. Booth was laughing about something that Hannah had said, feeling Brennan leaning against him slightly, his arm resting behind her, when her phone rang suddenly.

She failed to see the number that was calling, and lifted it quickly with an apology. "Brennan." She said, her brow instantly furrowing. "Are you positive?" She said. "I would like to reschedule if..." She let out a sigh, and glanced to Booth, his eyebrow quirked curiously. "Thank you for the reminder." She said with a sigh. "We will be there on time, yes. Thank you." She said, hanging up the phone, she placed her phone down and sighed. "I apologize for the short notice, but it appears that Booth and I have forgotten that we need to attend a mandatory session with our psychologist."

"What?" Booth said, grabbing his phone. "I thought that wasn't until next week." He said, reaching for his phone, he scanned through his calendar. "No, no..." He grumbled. "Crap. They wouldn't reschedule?"

"Sweets will be out next week at a conference." Brennan sighed, lifting Michael to her shoulder, she patted his back expertly as she watched a myriad of emotions float through Booth's expression.

"And what time do we have to be there?" He asked.

"Fifteen minutes." She sighed. "That was just Sally calling to remind me."

"Fifteen minutes? Bones, we can't drop Michael off and get back in time!" Booth exclaimed, glancing to Hannah, who looked amused by the entire situation.

"Well then, it appears that Sweets will have someone his own age to converse with for this session." Brennan said, smiling slyly at Booth, listening to Hannah's laugh.

"You... you two think this is so funny." Booth grumbled, reaching for the baby as he stood up, he listened to Hannah giggle, and watched Brennan smile. "It's not funny! Sorry about cutting lunch a little short." Booth sighed, lifting the boy to his arms, he held his hand out to help Brennan. She stood up and thanked him.

"It's no problem." Hannah laughed. "You look good with a baby, Seeley."

"He does, doesn't he?" Brennan laughed, lifting the diaper bag from the seat. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Hannah." Brennan said, moving to reach her hand out to the other woman, when Hannah stood up, and hugged her tightly again.

"It was so nice to meet you, Temperance." She said, feeling as the other woman accepted the hug, if but a bit awkwardly. She pulled from the hug and smiled at Booth. "Seeley." She smiled. "I am glad you're happy." She said, passing on the hug.

"Very happy." He said, smiling toward Brennan. "Let's go, Bones." He said, nodding toward the door.

"We have time, Booth." She said, reaching for the baby as they walked toward the door together. "I will hold him." She said, watching the baby reach for her.

"Nope, he's my bouncing baby buffer now." Booth said, grinning at her pout as she hopped behind him, trying to keep up. "Besides, you said that I look good with a baby." He said, pushing his way out onto the street.

"I was just being polite!" She said, watching the amused smile he sent her, as he turned and traded the diaper bag for the baby. "Thank you." She said, walking with him, bouncing Michael to make him laugh as they walked. "Are we walking to the Hoover?"

"It's the quickest way." He said, glancing to her feet to make sure she had proper shoes.

"Hannah was very nice." Brennan said, keeping up with him, though their pace was very quick. Booth said nothing, so she felt she needed to say more. "Though I believe that you and I are in need of a conversation regarding your constant need to be a hero, despite the promise that you made to me before you left." She said, knowing that it would gain a glance back to her, and it did.

"I can't help being who I am, Bones." He said. "I was in a war zone."

"Did you have intercourse with anyone else that you rescued while in that war zone?" She asked, and though she was teasing, she expected the hardened look that was thrown in her direction.

He opened the front door of the Hoover, and they stepped inside, without him answering her question. She looked back at him, and he lifted his eyebrows, daring her to say something further. "Why do you always feel the need to get me riled up right before we go in to see Sweets?" He said as they both flashed their badges and moved through the metal detector. Neither noticed the glances they were getting from the familiar agents and security staff as they walked through the lobby to the elevator with a baby.

"I find it makes things easier if we're primed and ready, rather than sitting in his office staring at him. You never told me how you met Hannah." She said, watching him stab his finger into the button on the elevator.

"It wasn't important." He said, poking the button again and again.

"It was important. You said you didn't put yourself in danger, and it appears that you were in danger quite often. That can be construed as either a lie, or a lie by omission." She prattled on.

The door to the elevator opened, and they stepped inside. "Bones, that's enough."

"We rarely talk about what we did in our respective places when we left home. You didn't tell me about shooting someone and rescuing your prospective lover, and I never told you about the time that Daisy and I were attacked by armed guerillas. So I suppose that it is alright that we don't discuss these things since they are in the past." She said, noting that his eyes were wide with surprise. She hitched the baby up a bit on her hip and the doors opened.

"Wait, you what?" He exclaimed, rather loudly, watching as she stomped down the hallway toward Sweets' office. "Bones!" He exclaimed, watching her turn her head toward him, tipping it curiously, obviously confused by his shouting. "You were attacked by guerillas?" He exclaimed.

Her brow furrowed. "Yes. But it was fine. I beat them up." She said, watching him curiously.

"Oh... oh, so you beat them up?" He grunted angrily. "So then it's just fine." He shrugged sarcastically.

"Yes." She nodded. "I had to." She said, watching him closely, her hand on the door knob. "You weren't there to shoot them between the eyes." She said, yanking on the doorknob, she pushed her way into the outer office, listening to her partner's irritated grunt.

Brennan stepped into the outer office, quickly announcing that they were there to see Sweets. She missed the confused look from the older woman behind the desk, and Booth didn't even say a word.

They stepped into Sweets' office, and she immediately sat down, resting the baby in her lap, as Booth followed behind, dropping the diaper bag on the couch between them, before sitting down. "Alright, we're here." Booth grunted at the psychologist, whose attention hadn't been grabbed just yet. Sweets turned just then, poised to begin immediately, when his jaw dropped at the sight before him.


	12. What Did You Do On Your Summer Vacation?

Brennan and Booth exchanged a quick glance, and their attention went back to Sweets. The psychologist was sitting across from them at his desk, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open just slightly. It was clear that his breathing was a bit irratic, and from the slight squeak he made in his throat, he was quite speechless.

"I apologize for nearly forgetting our session." Brennan blurted out, sensing each and every movement of her partner beside her. He seemed only slightly nervous, and she was sure that it was only because they hadn't discussed how they were going to handle this. It was most likely that, and the fact that she had blurted out some information that she knew that he wasn't prepared to hear just as they entered the psychologist's office. She bounced the baby a little on her knee, and Michael pushed back into her gently.

"I think we may have broken him." Booth whispered toward Brennan, watching her brow furrow. "Sweets?" Booth said suddenly, a bit louder, leaning forward toward the psychologist, he tapped on his desk. "Sweets, you okay?" He asked. "Sweets!" He clapped his hands.

"I… I just…" The psychologist stammered.

"Should we go?" Brennan asked Booth, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. "We are very busy with our case, Booth. If Sweets isn't ready to…"

"A baby?" Sweets managed to squeak out, sending two sets of eyes to the psychologist.

"Very good, Sweets… Baby, and Bones, and Booth. Now that we got our introductions out of the way." He rolled his eyes. "We're here… now do your shrinky thing so we can get back to work."

"Who… why…?" Sweets said, suddenly clearing his throat. "Would either of you like to explain to me why you brought a baby to our session?"

"Because we were at lunch, and we didn't have time to take him back to daycare." Brennan said, clearly annoyed with the psychologist's short attention span. "Sweets." She said, watching his brow furrow tightly, looking into Brennan's eyes. "Focus." She thought for a moment she heard a slight chortled laugh from her partner, and knew that she couldn't look in his direction for fear that she would lose all composure. In fact, she was quite thankful that the diaper bag was between them, so that he couldn't attempt to get her attention.

Sweets breathed heavily through his nose for a moment. "Fine." He huffed, looking all the world like a pouting child. "Doctor Brennan, it's nice to see you. I hope you had a relaxing vacation." He said, watching her nod slightly.

"It was extremely relaxing." She said, giving the baby on her knee a little bounce as she watched Sweets try to read her expression. "Thank you for asking." She said, obviously not interested in sharing any more information.

"Booth? Your last week, did you have an enjoyable time with Parker?" He asked.

"Yes." Booth said, adding nothing more to the conversation. "I told you that already."

"And you have a case now?" Sweets asked, feeling as though he was literally pulling teeth.

"Yes." Booth replied. "Again, I was in your office when I got the phone call from Bones."

"Did you want to share any details on the case with me? It's your first case back after your time away, you both came home early from your respective times away. Did you want to discuss why that was?"

"No." Both Brennan and Booth said at the same time.

"Come on, guys." Sweets sighed. "I mean, Doctor Brennan you came back, then went on a vacation."

"A much needed vacation." Brennan replied.

"And where did you go?" He asked.

"I went to North Carolina." She stated. "As you know, that's where my brother and his family lives." She said.

"And did you have a nice time?" Sweets asked.

"Yes." She replied simply. "I don't see how our vacations have anything to do with our partnership." She said, lifting an inquisitive eyebrow. "In fact, I believe you already inquired about my vacation previously. How much more would you like to know, Doctor Sweets? Would you like to know what I ate? Would you like to know the weather?" She asked, her tone becoming quite sharp, and Michael began to fuss. She was trying not to become upset, but her mind kept going back to that moment in the diner a little over a week ago when Sweets questioned her about Booth, about his safety in Afghanistan. The memory of that only fueled her frustration of learning of the danger he had put himself in to rescue Hannah. She could feel panic roiling in her belly, and she knew that Michael could feel it. She turned her attention to the baby in her arms, turning him to face her. "Hey… hey, no need to be frightened." She whispered to him, smiling gently at the baby, she could feel her anxiety start to slip away. "It's okay, sweetheart. No fussing…" She whispered. She could sense Booth watching her with concern.

"Bones." Booth said, his tone soft and instructive. "It's okay." He said, waiting for her to look at him, she refused for a moment. In his tone she heard a silent 'We'll talk later.'

Sweets watched her ignore Booth for a moment, her eyes finally meeting her partner's after a long moment. He could see their guarded communication, and had no clue what was going through their mind. "Booth?" Sweets said, gaining the other man's attention. "How is the case working out with you guys? I know things were a little uncomfortable before you both went your separate ways. How did the reunion work out? Is everything running smoothly?"

"Everything is fine, Sweets. Bones and I work like a well-oiled machine." He said. "A little time apart was good for us, and we're doing just fine."

"And your night terrors?" Sweets asked, knowing full well that the conversation between himself and Booth was private, but he honestly hoped to get some traction into understanding Booth's questions. He didn't notice Brennan's spine straighten at the mention.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Sweets." Booth said. He didn't look flustered, he didn't look angry. He looked genuinely confused.

"Night terrors, Booth. You came to me, and you were asking me about…." Sweets said.

"Nope." Booth shrugged. "No clue what you mean. Bones?" He said, watching Brennan look up at him curiously. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

"No. Perhaps he has you confused with one of his other patients." She said, moving her attention back to Michael.

"Come on, Booth. Tell me about Afghanistan, then."

"Yes, Booth." Brennan goaded suddenly. "Tell us about Afghanistan." She said without looking up at Booth, her eyebrow lifted.

That was when Booth realized that she was actually upset about what he had revealed at lunch, not simply teasing him. There was a seriousness in his tone that he didn't miss. "There's nothing to tell." Booth said. "I went, I trained, I missed my kid and my work, and I came home." He said, eying Brennan. "And why did you come home, Bones?" He said a bit sharply, watching her blue eyes meet his, challenging her.

"I felt that my work here was more important than what I was doing in Indonesia. I had done quite a lot with very little to show for it while in Maluku. At least here I can see that my results make a difference." She said, lifting the baby to her shoulder, she patted him gently.

"Did you miss Booth?" Sweets asked.

"Sweets!" Booth growled. "Will you stop it? We are partners, we work together. We left, we returned, and we are working well together. Stop sticking your godda—"

"Booth." Brennan said, watching his eyes snap to her, she nodded toward the baby.

"Stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." He said. "Your book is done, okay? This…" He said, indicating himself and Brennan. "For your viewing pleasure, is no longer an option. So get yourself a girlfriend that sticks around, and leave our love life alone. Do you understand?"

Sweets sucked in a breath. "Fine." He sighed. "Tell me about the baby then." He said, feeling defeated.


	13. Full Potential

Booth and Brennan exchanged a look, and she nodded slightly just to allow him to tell the story, for fear that she'd mistakenly reveal something. "He's the child of our victim." Booth said, clearing his throat upon seeing the look of surprise on Sweets' face. "Bones here is a foster parent, so I took him into protective custody until we can figure out who killed his mother, and bring them to justice." He said watching Sweets carefully.

"So you just… took custody of him, and handed him over to Doctor Brennan?" Sweets asked, seemingly unhappy with the situation.

"Well, I wouldn't necessarily say…"

"Yes." Brennan replied, bouncing Michael on her knee. "Booth knew that Michael needed someone to care for him, and trusted that as a foster parent, I would be an ideal candidate. He didn't just hand him over, Sweets. Booth is a father, and is extremely good with children."

"Thanks, Bones." Booth said, smiling. "The kid has nobody, Sweets, and we have the ability to provide him protection. We don't know the mother's situation yet. We don't know why she was killed, just that she was killed. She was snatched off the street, murdered and dumped. I think "

"We will find out exactly what happened to her." Brennan said, turning Michael to face her, he let out a happy smile, and squeaked at her smile. "Won't we, Michael?" She said, giving the boy an eskimo kiss by nuzzling his nose with her own. "We're just waiting on Doctor Hodgins to get us some particulate data." She said in an overly sweet voice to Michael, refusing to look at Sweets. "Doctor Hodgins is not working to his full potential, is he, Michael? We might have to have a talk with him." She smiled at his giggle.

Sweets looked like he wanted to ask a few more questions, but when he turned his attention to Booth's penetrating gaze, he thought otherwise. "So um... so the case is going well though?" Sweets asked.

"It's just begun, but we are working through our processes just fine." Brennan replied, finally looking up at Sweets, she hugged the baby against herself. "If we need your profiling expertise, I am sure that we will contact you."

Sweets nodded, trying to figure out exactly how to proceed without pushing too hard into their personal lives. He glanced toward Booth and watched the other man's eyebrow raise. It was odd to him, the way they were behaving as if no time had passed at all. It had been over three months since he had seen the two of them together, and before their respective trips it had almost seemed like they were itching to get away from one another. Yet right now, they were behaving exactly as they had before he had shared his thoughts and book with them. Completely aware of one another, protective of one another, and connecting on a completely different plane. Perhaps Booth was correct. Perhaps some time away had afforded them both the time they needed to focus on themselves, and come back together as a cohesive unit. It was frustrating, however that he couldn't seem to get any information from either of them about their respective trips, or the two weeks following their return.

He was about to ask a question, when Brennan's phone rang out.

She looked a little surprised, but picked up the phone and glanced to Sweets. "I apologize." She said softly. "It's the lab." She said, lifting the baby with her as she stood up. She could feel Booth's eyes following her. "Brennan." She said into the line. She walked with the baby toward the door and back, listening to whomever was on the line. "And you've pinpointed the location. Okay. I will be there shortly. Thank you Doctor Hodgins." She said, pulling the phone from her ear she hung it up and looked over at the two men who had been watching her. "Hodgins has some data that he needs to share with me. I should get back to the lab." She said. "I apologize for cutting our session short, Doctor Sweets." She said, her tone already in doctor mode.

"It's fine, Doctor Brennan." Sweets nodded.

"I'll walk back with you." Booth said suddenly, standing up.

"Actually, Agent Booth..." Sweets started.

"No." Brennan said to Booth a bit abrasively, shaking her head, she watched confusion cloud his expression, but she remained resolute and stubborn. "I don't need you." She said, not realizing the harshness of the statement.

"What?" Booth said, brow furrowing as he approached her, she held her hand out to him. "Bones?"

"I am just going to go back, bring Michael to daycare, and then go to the lab." She said, shifting the baby on her hip. "I won't be in need of your assistance at this time, Booth." She stated, her tone was a bit sharp, and she eyed him carefully. "I can walk back alone." She said. "You're already here at the Hoover, and I am perfectly capable of getting back to the lab on my own."

He could see that there was something else behind her refusal. "Bones?" He whispered.

"Agent Booth, we can continue our session." Sweets said.

"See that?" Brennan said, accepting Booth's challenging glare. "Doctor Sweets has graciously offered to continue our session." She said, walking toward the couch, she lifted the diaper bag onto her shoulder. "Perhaps you can discuss with him your deception directed toward me in regards to your time in Afghanistan." She said, knowing that she was dipping her toe over the line, and that he wasn't going to be very happy with her.

"Bones." Booth growled.

"Have a nice day." She said, waving toward Sweets and Booth, she quickly exited the door without once looking Booth in the eyes.

Booth continued standing, staring at the door as it closed behind her, his jaw clenching with irritation.

"Agent Booth?" Sweets said from behind him. The psychologist watched the other man take a deep breath. "Agent Booth, you can sit down." He said, watching the agent turn around. "Have a seat." He said with a friendly smile.

"I don't want to talk, Sweets." Booth sighed. "This is counseling for partners, and my partner left." He said, wishing that he could just bolt out the door, or that his phone would ring.

"Booth, come on. Just sit down for a few minutes, okay? I'm not going to bug you about anything. It's clear that Doctor Brennan was trying to make you upset for some reason as she was leaving. Just sit down." He said, nodding toward the couch.

Booth sighed, hearing the tone of Brennan's voice ringing in his head was only fueling his frustration. He could tell by the fact that she hadn't looked at him that she knew that he'd be upset, and he knew exactly what had made her angry. He stepped to the couch and sat down. He nodded toward the psychologist. "So how has your past few months been?" He asked, watching Sweets' eyebrows lift. "What? You can be nosy about my life, but I can't ask about yours?" He grunted.

"It's been fine." Sweets shrugged. "Kind of lonely without Daisy around. She writes though, so that's nice. She didn't mention that Doctor Brennan was leaving Maluku though, which is kind of weird." He said.

"Maybe Bones told her to be discrete." Booth replied, knowing that Brennan had been having panic attacks and nightmares while in Maluku, and if they were anything like the ones that he had experienced, then surely Daisy knew about them. "Bones is a very private person. She makes sure that those around her understand that as well."

Sweets nodded knowingly. "Tell me this, do you think it's a good idea to give Doctor Brennan the responsibility to care for an infant?" He asked, watching Booth's eyes narrow just slightly, and his jaw clench.

"What does that mean?" Booth asked.

"I mean that... because of Doctor Brennan's rationality, superiority, obsessive work ethic, stunted social interactions and avoidance of intimacy, that caring for a child may not be something that she would particularly excel at. She often has the inability to display her emotions, which would make it confusing and almost upsetting when a non-verbal child is upset or needs something, because she may not be able to identify with the child, and be unable to soothe or reassure the baby. Her mother left when she was a teenager, and she hasn't had much interaction with babies. I don't know if she would be able to put aside her rationality to maintain a maternal instinct."

Booth stood up suddenly, his fist clenched angrily. "You have no idea what the hell you're talking about, kid." Booth grunted, watching Sweets tip his head in confusion. "I just don't get it." He said, shaking his head. "You constantly underestimate her. You talk down to her like she is a moron. You use words like stunted and obsessive... She's not a goddamned guinea pig, and she's not an idiot. She has more heart, and more compassion in her little toe than you have in your entire goddamned body." Booth exclaimed, not realizing that his accusatory finger had gotten very close to the psychologist, whose eyes were as wide as saucers. "I think we're done here." Booth grunted. "I have too much work to do." He said, turning for the door.

"Have a good day..." He flinched when his door slammed behind the agent. "Agent Booth." Sweets muttered at the rattling pictures on the wall.


	14. Open Mouth, Insert Baby Shoe

Booth made his way up to his office, dialing Brennan on the way. He wasn't surprised when she failed to answer. "Goddamn it." He muttered, pushing down on his phone, he took a step into the bullpen from the elevator and sighed, making his way toward his office.

"Hey, Booth." One of the agents shouted over a desk or two. He looked up and nodded his head toward the other man. "Doctor Brennan is in your office." He said, tipping his head to side. "She's got a baby with her?"

"Thank you, Roberts." Booth said, ignoring the obvious question in the other man's tone. He picked up his pace toward his office. Sure enough, there she was, pacing slowly as she held the baby against her. He opened the door, and she turned toward him. "Bones." He said in a near dramatic sigh. "I thought you went to the lab."

"I..." She stopped, waiting for the door to close. "I do have to get back to the lab, and I was on my way." She said, pausing for a moment. "I just..." She swallowed hard. "I don't like being angry with you. I just want a few answers." She sighed. "Why wouldn't you tell me about what happened in Afghanistan? Why would you tell me that it was mostly administrative, when it was clearly not. You were clearly in combat. You were clearly in danger. You weren't just training soldiers, you were fighting. Why wouldn't you tell me that? Don't you... don't you trust me?" She asked, trying desperately to keep her panic to a minimum.

He could see the conflict and panic in her eyes, in the way she held herself, the way she was bouncing the baby in her arms, the way her teeth seemed to grit tightly. "Bones, I don't want to make things any worse."

"Worse?" She said, swallowing hard.

"Your nightmares, your fears. What happened with me, has happened. It's in the past. Of course I was in danger over there. I can't train soldiers in a classroom setting. It's real life, it's real war. I had to do my job, Bones. I came home whole and alive, and I'm never going back into the Army." He said, walking around her. She seemed to be following him, but refusing to get too close. "I'm never leaving you and Parker again. If I told you what happened, the details... If I told you everything, it would just be fodder for your nightmares. I just really didn't think that it was a really good idea."

"You didn't know that I was having nightmares when we first reconnected, Booth. You didn't know, and yet you still withheld information. I refuse to accept that excuse. I refuse to accept your reasoning. You don't have to protect me from my own thoughts, Booth. I am an adult. I have experienced a multitude of dangerous situations, and I am mature enough to deal with what you've gone through. I know what happens in a war zone. I just don't like being lied to." She said, stopping when her back was to the door, he leaned back on his desk across from her and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head a bit.

"You still haven't gotten help for your night terrors. You are still waking up in a sweat, scratching the hell out of me, waking me up out of a sound sleep screaming." He said, pointedly, nodding toward her. She narrowed her eyes and sucked air through her nose sharply, her cheeks turning red.

"I've been home for less than a week!" She exclaimed, feeling the baby start to fuss, she lowered her voice. "I have been home for less than a week, Booth. This case has taken up all of our time, and now we have Michael with us on top of all of that. I haven't had a moment to myself to make a phone call."

"Don't use Michael as an excuse." He said, pointing a finger toward her. "Have you called anyone? Have you done any research? Michael has been in daycare all morning. Have you even given it a thought? It's a pretty big deal, Bones. I don't think you're taking your mental health seriously enough." Booth said, standing up straighter, he started to walk around his desk. "Do I have to worry about Michael's safety?" He asked, watching a fire rage in her eyes at his words. "Are you going to do it?" He asked, his stare hard and angry. "Are you going to call someone?" He asked.

"Yes." She replied, feeling her emotions start to unwind. He was pushing her, and she hated being pushed, and he knew that she hated being pushed, which was making this all the more irritating for her. "You are making me very upset." She said, letting out an angry growl.

"Well, Bones. You need help. It's important for our job." He snapped, sitting down in his chair. "I can't do it for you. Your sleep is being affected, and that can affect your reflexes. It's affecting my sleep too. If your reflexes are compromised, I can't take you out into the field." He said, feeling his own temper rising with her stubbornness. "Is that what you want?" He asked. "Would you rather just sit in the lab and play with your bones all day? Is that what you want? I mean, you beat up a couple of armed guerillas, so beating up an innocent bed partner really shouldn't be too difficult for you, should it?" He growled. "Maybe I should take the baby, you know? You might end up hurting him in your sleep too." His tone was irritated and sarcastic, and while she sometimes had difficulty reading sarcasm, Booth's tone was dripping with it and unmistakable.

She stared at him angrily, shaking her head as her ears became hot and red, her blue eyes showing pure rage. "You are just angry because I withheld information about Maluku. This has nothing to do with my nightmares. It has everything to do with your ego, and the fact that I bruised it." She said, shaking her head. "I don't have time for your ego right now, I have work to do." She said, stepping toward him, he turned in his chair, prepared to stand up. Before he could do so, she set the baby firmly in his lap. "He is your responsibility now." She said, watching as Booth's eyes widened. "I don't want to be responsible for injuring him." She said, her voice breaking as she fought to keep control. "I need to get back to the lab and play with my bones." She snapped. "And if you're so concerned about getting woken up and scratched up in the middle of the night, or so torn up about my nightmares, then stay the hell out of my bed!" She exclaimed, clearly on the verge of tears. She turned directly for the door, refusing to look back.

"Bones." He said, standing up with Michael in his arms. "Bones, please!" He exclaimed, stepping toward the door as she swung it open and stomped out. "Bones!" he shouted again, and she was gone. He stepped toward the door to follow her, swinging the door to his office open as she disappeared around the corner. With Brennan gone, Michael suddenly let out a mighty wail. "Oh God, no..." He whispered, turning the baby in his arms. "No, no, no... please... please no." He whispered, trying to soothe the screaming child. He looked around the bullpen as everyone's attention went to their senior agent, standing in his office doorway, holding a writhing, screaming infant in his arms. "What are you all staring at! Get to work!" He barked, as he turned and walked into his office. Michael was inconsolable as Booth walked across his office toward the diaper bag, hoping to find something that would calm him. "Aw, come on, buddy. She took off on both of us..." He said, looking through the bag. "You don't see me crying about it, do you?" He mumbled, rifling through the bag. It was then when he felt a warm wetness seeping through his shirt sleeve. "Oh god, please don't tell me..." He whined as he saw the wet spot on his arm, he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, almost ready to let out a cry just as loud and as frustrated as the baby in his arms, as he quickly worked on consoling the extremely angry baby in his arms.


	15. Mayor, May Not

Brennan stalked into the lab angrily. She was a bit out of breath and still very upset about what Booth had said and implied. Her mind was running through the entire argument from start to finish, and she was trying desperately not to feel guilty for leaving Michael behind. She knew that the little boy was in fine hands with Booth, but it didn't escape her that leaving him behind could be seen as abandonment, and for that she felt a pit of guilt at the bottom of her stomach. She had just swung into her office, grabbed her lab coat and turned around, when she saw Angela standing in her doorway. "I don't have time, Angela. I'm late enough as it is."

"What happened?" She asked, pausing when she saw Brennan tip her head and shake it. Brennan's cheeks were bright red, and she looked very worked up. "You look upset, are you okay?"

"I don't want to discuss it." She sighed, walking past Angela toward the platform.

"Is it the case?" Angela asked. "Is it Booth?" She followed behind Brennan, who stepped up the platform, scanned her card and moved toward the remains. She stepped around the table.

"Angela, I really do not want to discuss it." She said, snapping a pair of gloves on her hands, she reviewed a few notes of what had happened while she was gone.

"It was the lady friend, wasn't it? Booth's lady friend." Angela whispered not so quietly.

"Booth has a lady friend?" Cam asked, turning around she looked between the other two women. Brennan sent Angela a sharp glare, that made the artist's mouth snap shut.

"Apparently we're not talking about it." Cam muttered, shrugging.

"Hodgins called me, he said that he had some particulate data." Brennan said, looking at the computer screen, she started typing a few things, looking for Hodgins' information on the server.

"Where's the baby? Is he at the daycare?" Angela asked.

"Baby?" Cam asked.

"He's with Booth." Brennan said, typing in a few more things, she looked toward Hodgins, who was walking up the platform steps.

"Wait, Booth has a lady friend and a baby?" Cam asked. Hodgins' eyes widened, and he glanced to Angela, who shook her head. "Is someone going to explain this to me?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Angela sighed.

"I know that I don't want to know." Clark replied, looking up from his examination.

"Doctor Hodgins." Brennan sighed, either not hearing, or completely ignoring the outside conversation. "I have the data up, would you care to explain what you've found?" She asked, watching as Hodgins sent her a knowing look. He nodded and moved toward the screen.

"It appears that based upon the particulates, she was hit from behind and landed face first on what we're purporting as the road, as we've already noted asphalt."

"Booth said she was out jogging." Brennan said, noting that everyone other than Clark had gone back to their offices. "So she was hit from behind, and then what?"

"Dragged." Hodgins said. "Not a long way, but enough to maybe get her into a car. Is there any way we can find out what her typical route is? We may be able to find a witness who saw something happen." He said, watching Brennan nod. "We also have pollen from flowering cherry trees, which weren't in the location where the body was found, and remnants of petroleum."

She thought for a split second that she should call Booth and have him take a look, ask some questions, but she was still feeling extremely angry and frustrated at his attitude and irritation toward her. She had no desire to speak to him just yet. She stared at the results for a moment, sighing.

"Doctor B?" Hodgins said, interrupting her thought process, she looked toward the other scientist. "Did you want to ask Booth about it?"

"No." She said, shaking her head. "I want you to come with me." She said, heading toward her office. "We're going to go on a little field trip." She called. She didn't see Hodgins smile, but she heard his excited exclamation that he'd be ready when she was.

* * *

Booth was sitting at his desk, he had finally managed to get Michael to fall asleep, tucked into the crook of his arm. He cradled the boy with one arm and typed with his other hand, something that wasn't unlike his typical hunt and peck method of typing, so it didn't really slow him down. It had been nearly two hours since Brennan had stormed from his office, and she was still not answering his calls. He wanted nothing more than to just head over there and talk to her, but the baby was sleeping, and he really didn't want to wake him and make him upset. There was a knock at the door of his office, and it opened slightly as one of the agents from the bullpen peered in.

"What is it, Leary?" He asked, keeping his voice low. He gave the other agent a look that indicated that if he were to wake the child, he'd be responsible for him for the rest of the day.

"The team at the mother's house brought some items that might be of interest. They sent some to the Jeffersonian, but there were some bills and photos that they sent to you." He said.

"That's fine, set them over here." Booth said, tapping the desk beside his keyboard. The agent did as he was told and set the papers beside the keyboard, and then quietly left the office. Booth leaned forward slightly, careful not to jostle Michael, and pulled out several papers from the box. He put a few aside, glancing at the address on the label, and set it aside. He picked up the phone bill and set it in another pile, and then noted several photos. There was a picture of Michael, smiling at the camera, his blue eyes bright and happy. The woman holding him was strikingly familiar and not because of the sketch that he had used as a searching tool. She had blue eyes and dark hair, high cheekbones, and a happy smile. It was clearly their victim, the boy's mother, and it was astonishing to Booth how similar she looked to Brennan. "Well its no wonder you like Bones so much, buddy." He said softly, looking affectionately at the photo of the baby and his mother. "She looks just like your mama." He said, feeling a pang of guilt in his chest for their earlier argument. He set the picture down, and reached for the phone, tucking it under his chin, he pressed the speed dial for Brennan's cell again, sighing when it went immediately to voicemail. Then he tried her office phone, and there was nothing. He ended the call and dialed Cam.

"Dr. Saroyan." She said, her voice seeming a bit tired.

"Camille." He said, listening to a slight chuckle on the line.

"What are you looking for, Seeley?"

"Bones. Is she around?" Booth asked. "She's not answering her cell or office line. Is she in the bone room or something?"

"Well, I'm not sure why she's not answering her cell phone, but she's not here. She and Doctor Hodgins left a little over an hour ago."

There was a long pause. "Where did she go?" He asked, his tone strikingly serious. "Cam, where did Bones go?"

"Before I do that, why don't you explain to me who this new lady in your life is... and what's the deal with a baby? What the hell is going on with you, Seeley?" Cam asked.

"Cam." He sighed. "Where is Bones?"

There was a pause on the line, and he heard Cam sigh, knowing she wasn't going to get any information out of him. "She and Doctor Hodgins thought it would be beneficial to drive in the area where the victim lived. They determined that she had been hit by a heavy object while jogging on the street before she was dragged off. They were hoping that they could figure out approximately where she was grabbed."

"And you just let her go off wandering the streets on her own? Cam! This happened in one of the worst neighborhoods in the city!" He exclaimed.

"And Doctor Brennan is an adult, she's well versed in martial arts... and Doctor Hodgins is with her, she's not alone." Cam sighed at his overprotectiveness.

"Oh, I see. You sent her with the Mayor of Munchkinland. Well then, she should be just fine!" He exclaimed sarcastically.

"Seeley, calm down." Cam exclaimed.

"I am not going to calm down!" He exclaimed, his voice startling Michael out of his sleep, when he opened his eyes to Booth, and let out a mighty cry.

"Seeley?" Cam said, hearing the baby crying.

"Crap. I have to go." He said, slamming the phone down, he stood up and lifted the baby with him, moving swiftly toward the diaper bag. "Alright buddy..." He said softly, trying to calm Michael as he moved. "Let's go find our Bones." He whispered, grabbing the bag, he quickly exited his office and headed toward his car, sobbing baby and all.


	16. Looking for Answers

Brennan drove the car while Hodgins sat beside her, his laptop open as he focused on the scenery outside. They were nearly to their destination when Hodgins spoke up. "Angela mentioned that you and Booth have custody of the victim's baby." He said, watching Brennan's eyes flick to him, and then back to the road.

"Of course she did." Brennan mumbled to herself. She sighed, and shrugged. "Booth has custody of the child." She replied and the conversation ended for a moment. She could sense that Hodgins wanted to talk, but could literally feel her emotions pulling inside of herself. She stared at the window, feeling the anger she was feeling start to roil once again in her belly.

"Doctor Brennan?" Hodgins said, watching her let go of a rather large breath, he decided to continue. "Doctor Brennan, are you upset about something?" He asked, watching her strangle hold on the steering wheel.

"Excuse me?" She asked, glancing toward Hodgins. She didn't mean to sound harsh, she had truly not heard what he had said.

"Are you alright?" he asked, catching her eyes for a moment. "This case is pretty bad." He sighed, wondering if that was what she was upset about.

"Doctor Hodgins, have you ever had nightmares?" She asked, ignoring his comment. "After... after the Gravedigger thing. Did you have nocturnal disturbances?" She asked.

"Yes." He nodded. "When I could sleep." He replied, knowing from his conversation with Booth that her questions were coming from somewhere deep inside, and that it was important not to squander her trust at this moment. "Sometimes they were really bad, downright frightening. I felt claustrophobic. It didn't help that my leg was still healing, and I was constantly reminded of it that way." He replied.

"Did you see someone about it?" She asked, swallowing hard. She didn't know if this line of questioning was appropriate for coworkers, but this was the husband of her best friend, he was also her friend. She could trust him with this information. She could trust Hodgins. "I have been having frequent nocturnal disturbances. At times they can become extremely intense." She said softly. "Did you see a psychologist, a psychiatrist? Did you seek professional help?" She stammered.

Hodgins closed his laptop for a moment, sitting a little straighter in his seat. "I did." He nodded. "I didn't see Sweets or anything. Just... a doctor that I could trust, you know? Sweets is way too involved in our work and our lives. Sometimes we need a break from that kind of scrutiny, you know?" He said, noting that she seemed to calm more at his words, her hands weren't holding the steering wheel so tightly. "Do you want me to give you my doctor's information? She was really helpful. I rarely have nightmares anymore, and Ange is there now. It helps a lot."

"I'd very much appreciate her information, Jack." She said, nodding her head. "Thank you."

"Never a problem, Doctor B. If you ever need to talk about any of it, you know where I am." He said, watching her nod gratefully toward him. There were several moments of pause. "Are they primarily about the Gravedigger?" He asked. He caught her eyes for a moment, and she looked confused. "Your nightmares."

"Sometimes." She nodded. "Sometimes it's more involved, or... more frightening. Often they don't make logical sense, and when I try to reason with myself, they seem to get worse."

"They Double down." He replied. "Your anxiety level is so high, that your mind kind of works harder on the nightmare and twists it into something more frightening." He said, watching her nod. "Doctor Saunders will be very helpful, Doctor B. It'll take some work and time, but I think everything will work out fine." He said.

"I am concerned that my nightmares are already affecting my relationship with Booth." She swallowed hard.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. He cares about you a lot. I'm sure he just wants you to feel safe." He said.

"Sometimes, he can be a little too overprotective." She said, sharing a wry smile with her friend, who nodded knowingly. She pulled to the side of a road in a fairly run down neighborhood. The streets were quiet, though there were the occasional person sitting out on their porch, and many cars were parked along the road. "This is the neighborhood." She said, glancing toward the file. "The Danby home is... that one right there." She pointed toward a two story home. It was clear that it was a former single family home that had been broken up into apartments. "Would you be comfortable walking, or would you prefer that we simply drive around the neighborhood?" She asked, watching Hodgins look at her with wide eyes.

"I'm good either way." He said. "I rarely get out into the field where I'm not climbing into a septic tank, dumpster, or sewer drain." He replied. "Not that I'm complaining." He grinned. "I love my job."

"Then lock up your laptop and let's take a little walk." She said, nodding toward the outdoors.

Hodgins grinned. "You got it." He grinned as he quickly moved to stow his electronics out of sight.

* * *

Booth grumbled as he drove, trying again and again to get Brennan on the phone. He glanced into the back seat, unable to see Michael, he was thankful that the child was no longer crying. It had been quite a long time since he had been responsible for an infant, and had to remind himself to keep his frustration in check around their little charge. He pulled off the highway toward their victim's neighborhood, his anxiety level was making his hands clench the steering wheel tightly. He calmed himself with the knowledge that at least she had brought Doctor Hodgins with her, and that although he was probably useless in a fight, she hadn't gone along, and for Brennan, that was a big deal.

Booth pulled up to Brennan's car that was parked along the street and paused for a moment noting that she wasn't inside it. He let out a sigh. "Seriously, Bones?" He grumbled, continuing down the road. He drove around the block, and immediately saw her form alongside Doctor Hodgins, walking along the sidewalk mid conversation. He sighed, driving along slowly as not to alert them just yet, when she turned and looked toward the car. He could see from the look on her face that she wasn't pleased that he had shown up, and stopped as he pulled to the side of the road. He rolled down the passenger side window, and both of them stepped toward the car.

"Why are you here?" She snapped immediately, her eyes traveling to the back seat. "Why do you have Michael with you?"

"Because you abandoned him in my office, Bones." He said, watching her flinch at his choice of words. "You left him with me. He's doing fine, but he misses you." He corrected. He noticed her features soften slightly, and a quick glance toward the baby seat again. "Why are you two out here alone?"

"We don't require a police escort in order to pursue a lead, Agent Booth." Brennan said sharply, watching her partner's eyebrow lift curiously.

"We wanted to see if we could find where she was taken based on the evidence we found." Hodgins said, trying not to get into the middle of the glaring contest between Booth and Brennan.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be wandering around these streets?" He asked. "Get in the car." He said. "I'll drive you guys back to your car."

"We're not finished with our canvas of the neighborhood." She said stubbornly. "We don't need to be babysat, Booth. We are perfectly fine."

"Then I'll send out a few agents, they'll look around for what you're looking for. Just get in the car." He said, watching her chin jut out stubbornly. "Please, Bones." He said. "Hodgins? Come on."

"Booth, just go back to the office." She replied, trying to walk away, Booth followed alongside she and Hodgins, yelling out the window.

"Bones, just get in the car, tell me what you have, and we'll go look together." He said, still driving slowly down the road. "Bones, come on! I can tell you what the babysitter said was her typical jogging route." He exclaimed, sighing. "Bones, I don't like the idea of you two wandering the streets of this neighborhood if some raving lunatic is driving around, bludgeoning, and dragging off unsuspecting people." He grunted. "Okay? Please get into the car." He explained. "Please, Bones.

He watched her pause, and turn toward Hodgins. She said something softly to him, and he nodded. They both then turned toward the car. "You're going to take us around the neighborhood?"

"Anywhere you want to go, Bones."

"You're going to show us where her jogging route was?" She asked.

"As best as I can remember without the file in front of me, Bones. Just get in the car." He said, watching her give him a resigned sigh. She then moved toward the car with Hodgins. He reached for the front door handle, pulling it open. "No, Hodgins, Bones sits in the front."

"I'm sitting in the back with Michael." She said. "Hodgins can be your partner for a little while." She said, climbing into the back seat. She avoided his glare and settled in the seat, catching the eyes of the baby as she sat beside him. "Hey there, handsome." She said, a smile lighting up her face as the baby smiled back at her. "That's right, I'm back. I didn't go far." She said with a smile, pulling on her seatbelt. She looked up and caught Booth's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Okay, we're in the car, you can drive." She said, watching his eyes narrow, she narrowed hers right back. "Hodgins, tell Booth what we're looking for." She said, and then promptly went back to cooing at the baby, finding his attention to be much more pleasing than her partner's at this moment.


	17. Baby Block

Booth drove back towards the cars to start the navigation of their victim's jogging route, his eyes periodically looking into the back seat at Brennan, who kept her eyes on the baby. He knew that she was listening to every word that was being spoken, and she was well aware of the brown eyes that were willing her to look up at him. She could feel her resolve softening after their argument, and was touched by his concern for the safety of she and Hodgins, but there was another part of her that was irritated that he acted as if he didn't trust her to take care of herself. So instead of confronting him outright, she decided to talk to Michael.

"It was so nice of you boys to come and keep Hodgins and I safe." She said sweetly to the baby. "Even though we are a big boy and girl, and we can take care of ourselves."

"Bones." Booth mumbled.

"It's okay, Michael. You were just hanging around with an alpha male who can be very bossy. Such a bossy, bossy man, he is. You're just a little guy, and you just go where you're brought, don't you?" She said, giving the baby a little tickle. "Don't you, silly boy?"

"Bones, stop it."

"I'm not talking to you." She replied, looking up at Booth. "I'm talking to Michael, aren't I? Aren't I, sweet little baby boy?" She said to the little boy.

"Dude, she's totally baby blocking you." Hodgins said, holding his hands up in defense when Booth directed his glare and growl in the other man's direction. "Hey, hey..." He said in defense, as he tried not to laugh. "Why don't you just tell us where the jogging route was, and we'll be um... on our way." He smiled innocently and glanced out of the window, hoping to deflect the irritated glare from the agent beside him.

Booth made a growling sound under his breath and reached the house of the victim. "This is the victim's house." He said, pointing toward the same one that Brennan had identified earlier. He then decided to describe her route as he drove, taking a right, and then traveling down the suburban road. There was home after home, rarely a break in the pattern, he took another road and continued. "She apparently would go pretty far on these runs."

"Jogging is very good for the cardiovascular system as long as it is done often, and within the parameters of ones health." Brennan said from the back seat, still paying attention to the baby, her tone was high and sweet.

Booth took another turn, and there was nearly a gasp from Hodgins. "That there, right over there, a pocket park." He said, pointing to a small area with trees and a bench, with a small pathway that stretched through the trees.

"Cherry trees." Brennan said, reaching for the car door handle as Booth started to pull over. "Don't park on the shoulder." She said as she hardly waited for him to stop the car before she swung the door open and climbed out. She could hear Booth's disapproval of her exit, and ignored his shout to her. Hodgins was next out of the car, careful not to put his feet on the grass. The two of them walked the perimeter of the small park, observing what they could from the asphalt. "Earring." Brennan said, snapping on a glove as she crouched down near the shoulder, noticing a distinct impression of a car tire. She picked up the earring and gratefully took an evidence bag that Hodgins was offering. "We have tire impressions." She said, watching Hodgins step over toward her. She then saw Booth climb from the car and look in her direction. "Booth, we have tire impressions here. It could have been the suspect's car." She called.

"Could have been." He said a bit noncommittally. She sent him a glare, and he smiled slightly at her, indicating that he was simply picking on her. "I'll call in a tech team." He said.

"Call in the Jeffersonian, please." She said. "Do not roll your eyes at me." She said, hearing him laugh a little as he turned toward the open door of the SUV.

"He's just messing with you, Doctor B. He knows by now to call the lab." Hodgins whispered.

"He should also know by now not to mess with me." She said softly enough for Hodgins to hear. "I'm assuming these are the correct species of flowering cherry trees?" She asked him.

"I have some samples. They look like yoshino cherry trees, which is what we found evidence of. You might find some DNA on that earring." He said, leaning down to pull a few other samples.

She stood up, snapped off her gloves and looked around, noticing that there were homes across the street facing the small park. She left Hodgins to his evidence gathering and walked toward Booth. He had just called in to the Jeffersonian and leaned back out of the truck. There was just a hint of a smile on his lips as she approached him. "Don't even try to charm your way out of the argument we're currently in the middle of, Agent Booth." She said, glancing toward the dark glass of the back seat. She couldn't see the baby, but could hear him starting to fuss. "The neighbors across the street have a doorbell camera." She said, sighing. "We should see if it captured the assault or kidnapping."

"I can do that." He nodded. "I called in a couple of agents to do some canvassing."

"We can do it together." She replied, watching his mouth open slightly, as if he were choosing his words carefully. She knew exactly what he was going to say, and was extremely curious if he would say it. She could see that he was very cautious about how he approached it, and then his eyes darted across to a neighbor who was across the street, watching the three strangers as they stood loitering.

"I should go talk to the neighbor." He said. "You should stay with Michael, please." He said, watching the stubbornness in her eyes. "Please, Bones."

"That's fine." She said, a bit shortly, but with an understanding nod. She held his eyes for several moments. "It's fine, Booth. Go talk to the neighbor. I'll wait for the lab, and watch over Michael." She said. "His safety is just as important as finding justice for his mother." She said sincerely. He watched her for one more moment, and he nodded, turning to walk across the street.

* * *

It didn't take long for the cavalry to appear. The Jeffersonian team, and a team of agents arrived not long after Brennan had climbed into the back seat to soothe the crying baby. A cast was made of the tire track, and the team took photos of the area as well as collected evidence. After a half hour or so, Booth drove Brennan to her car to load Michael into it, so that she could bring him with her to the lab. Hodgins agreed to ride back to the lab with the techs after the evidence was gathered.

Booth pulled up to where her car was parked and she climbed from the back seat and unlocked her car. Booth lifted the baby and his seat from the car. She opened the door and Booth very carefully placed the seat into the base in Brennan's car. She walked around him and reached for the diaper bag, standing up to find Booth behind her. She turned to face him, and his eyes were full of apology and concern. "You're going back to the lab?"

"Yes." She replied, letting out a small sigh. The anger that she had been feeling had turned into a strange mush of insecurity and sadness, mixed with a bit of neediness. She didn't like the feeling at all, and almost wished that she had the foundation of anger to hold everything together.

"How long are you staying there?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said softly.

"Are you coming to my place tonight, or are you staying at yours?" He asked.

"I haven't decided." She sighed, her eyes straying from his.

His hand lifted, and he gently placed it at her jawline, watching the stubborn eyes that he loved so much looking up at him. "I love you, Bones. I should have never have suggested that Michael wasn't safe with you. That was a cheap shot, it was unfair, and it was..."

"Mean." She replied, swallowing hard. "It was mean, Booth." She said, sighing heavily. "I love you, but you're right. I have some things to think about." She said, glancing toward the car, where Michael was starting to fuss. "I should go, get him settled in my office so I can get some work done. You're going to be here for a couple more hours." She said, looking into his eyes. "Come by the lab when you're finished here." She said, leaning forward to drop a kiss on his lips. "I love you." She said, watching him for another moment before she climbed into her car and waved to Booth as she left to head toward the lab.


	18. Talking it Out

It was nearly seven in the evening by the time Brennan heard the familiar footfalls in the lab. It was nearly an hour after evidence from the crime scene had been delivered, and while he didn't call her to let her know when he would be there, she knew that he would show up as promised. She listened to the sound of his feet on the floor, and could almost tell his demeanor from how they slowed as they came close to her office. Her eyes moved to the sleeping baby in the portable playpen beside her desk that she had borrowed from the daycare, thinking back to the brief conversation she had with Cam when she returned to the lab. It was a bit awkward explaining to her boss that she was caring for the child of their murder victim, but with a little bit of forced aloofness, ignorance, and feigned confusion, and a lot of logical argument about some specific examples that only seemed to irritate Cam, Brennan was able to get to her office and find herself relative peace in the sanctity of her domain.

His feet stopped at the threshold of her office, and for a moment, she pretended she didn't hear him. He was well aware of the game, and waited her out. "Are you coming home?" He asked. The look on his face was unreadable. She couldn't tell if he was upset, or angry, or if he was just inquiring.

She looked up, her eyes squinting slightly. "I haven't had a chance to look over the evidence yet." She said, letting out a tired sigh.

He waited a beat, his eyes moving to the sleeping baby, and back to Brennan. "Do you intend on staying to look it over?" He asked.

Her blue eyes were focused on him, and her resolve was slowly melting the longer that she looked into his eyes. "I'm hungry." She said with nearly a whine.

"You're hungry?" He asked, his eyebrow lifted and a slight smile rose on his lips.

"Yes." She sighed. "I haven't eaten since lunch."

"Get your things, and we'll go to the diner." He said, reaching for the baby, she reached out and touched his arm. He turned to face her, standing straight as she watched him careful. "I'm not upset that you were in danger, and I'm not upset that I wasn't there to defend you from armed guerillas. I'm upset with myself that we both took needless risks with our lives to come to a conclusion that we should have been able to have figured out on our own." He said sincerely. "You never should have gone to Maluku, and I never should have gone to Afghanistan, Bones."

"We don't talk about what we experienced. You never told me that you had been in danger. Perhaps if I knew more, then my mind wouldn't be making up scenarios in my sleep." She whispered. She paused a moment and gave him a sad smile. "By the way, I have made an appointment for later this week to talk to someone." She said.

"I'm proud of you." He whispered.

"I don't want to hurt you anymore, Booth." She said, sighing seriously. "I don't want you to feel unsafe beside me at night."

"I don't feel unsafe, Bones. I feel helpless. I feel like waking you up before the terrors happen isn't actually keeping them from happening, they're just delaying it. And there is no way in hell that I'm sleeping alone ever again." He said, moving closer to her, he rested his forehead on hers. "I love you, and I hate that we lost so much time. I'm not going to lose another second."

"I understand." She whispered. "I feel similarly. I don't like that you had to put yourself in danger simply because we weren't brave enough to admit our feelings to one another. I took that out on you this afternoon, and it was unfair. I am sorry." She whispered.

"I like talking this stuff through, Bones. It feels so much better than holding it inside, doesn't it?" He asked.

She nodded against him, reaching her arms around for a tight hug. She pressed her face into his chest, letting out a gentle sigh. "Let's go get something to eat." She whispered.

"Sounds good to me." He said, kissing her head gently before pulling from her arms slowly, he turned and lifted the baby from the playpen, and she gathered her things, and they prepared to head for dinner.

* * *

Once the partners were in the diner with their food ordered, everything started to slide back into place. Booth glanced to the baby beside her in his carrier, his eyes closed in a gentle sleep. "You look a lot like his mother." Booth said suddenly, watching as Temperance's eyes flashed to him. She looked slightly alarmed, but it quickly melted into curiosity. "I saw a candid photo of his mother today, from evidence that they recovered from her apartment. You and our victim looked very similar. I think that's one of the reasons he likes you so much." Booth smiled.

"He is a very sweet boy." She replied, dropping her finger into the baby's hand. "I just feel so awful that he has to go through this." She sighed.

"Well, he's not going through it alone. He has us to look after him, Bones." Booth said reaching across the table for her hand. He watched her eyes for several moments, and squeezed her hand gently. They both looked up when their food was delivered, and reluctantly released their hand hold. Their dinner was spent mostly quiet, with the occasional comment on the case.

Booth watched a french fry disappear from his plate, and looked up at her smile. He smiled back at her, happy that things were starting to move back toward contentment. "I think we should tell Cam about us." She said abruptly. His head tilted in confusion.

"Cam? Why?" He asked.

"She just seems... confused and upset to be out of the loop. I've found that when she feels that she is being kept out of things, she can become quite hostile." She said. "We don't have to say anything about the engagement, but perhaps about our relationship. It might go a long way." She said, watching Booth consider it.

"But not Sweets?" He asked.

"Absolutely not." She said. "Just Cam." Brennan said, stealing another fry. "When I arrived at the lab with Michael in tow, I told her his connection to the case. She stated to me that it was improper to take in a victim's child as if it were a stray puppy."

"And I'm sure you reminded her about Michelle, and how she came to adopt her." Booth said, an amused smile on his face.

"Well, yes. It's an absolutely valid argument. I don't see how it's any different. She took in a child of a murder victim. She even went so far as to adopt Michelle. We don't know what will happen with Michael. We may find family members who could take him in. But it's important that he's cared for by people who not only feel that his well-being is important, but also his future." She paused, sighing slightly as she stared at her plate. "I shouldn't have left him behind with you." She said, looking up at Booth. She immediately saw a flash of offense on his features, and quickly spoke to rectify the interpretation of her words. "Not because you can't take good care of him. Clearly you can. I just... I felt incredibly guilty once I was out on the street without him. I felt as if I had abandoned him. I felt horrible." She admitted.

"You didn't abandon him, Bones. You fully expected to see him later, you were just frustrated with me. It's okay." He said, watching the baby smile up at Brennan. "And look at that, Mikey here doesn't hold it against you either." He said, grinning at the happy baby. "Besides, he got his revenge on me for you when you left." Booth said, shoving a fry in his mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Mr. soggy pants leaked on my favorite shirt." Booth said, watching the baby giggle from his seat. "Yeah, I bet you think that's funny." He said, looking into Brennan's eyes, he could see the happiness returning to them as she smiled a bit at Booth's misfortune.

"I was wondering why you changed your shirt." She grinned, letting out a joyful laugh when he stuck his tongue out at her playfully.


	19. Promise Me Something

By 8:30 that evening, Michael was happily sleeping in his playpen in Booth's bedroom, and Booth and Brennan had a chance to sit quietly together to contemplate their day. Booth was sitting against the arm of the couch, and Brennan was tucked between his legs, her back pressed against his chest as he gently moved his fingers across her arm. They didn't speak, and the television was off, and the quiet was gently recharging them. Booth bent his neck to gently kiss her temple, and her head tipped back onto his shoulder.

"Mm..." She mumbled, turning slightly in his arms. "I miss the beach." She whispered.

"Yeah?" He said, kissing her head again.

"Yes. It was warm, and safe." She said. "I had you all to myself."

"You have me all to yourself right now." He said, rocking her gently in his arms. He heard a gentle sigh, tried to look into her eyes. "What's on your mind, Bones?"

"Nothing." She shrugged, knowing that he wouldn't let it stay there, but hoping for a few moments of reprieve from his questions. "I don't know." She sighed.

"Did you want to talk about Hannah?" He asked.

"No." She replied.

"Okay." He said, kissing her gently. "Did you want to talk about our argument?"

"No." She said softly.

"Do you want to talk about the case?" He asked.

"Hodgins gave me the name of the doctor that he saw after the Gravedigger. That is who I have an appointment with." She said, cutting right to the chase. She knew that if she didn't offer him something, that the guessing game would go on for a while. "I am extremely uncomfortable discussing myself with someone that I don't know very well."

"Do you want me to go with you?" He asked, rocking her gently, he watched her head turn slightly, and a small smile appear on her lips. "I have no problem talking about you." He said playfully. "I could talk about you for hours." He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

"I believe that you and I experience enough couples therapy with Sweets." She said, letting a small smile escape her lips.

"You told Hodgins about your nightmares?" He asked.

"I told Angela. I simply asked Jack if he had gotten help, and he offered up his doctor's information. I am sure that Angela has discussed my nightmares with Hodgins. You know that she is extremely protective of me at times." She said softly.

"I know I pick on him, call him bug boy, and stuff like that, but Hodgins is a really good guy. He really cares about you, Bones." Booth said. "He has a lot of respect for you, and really cares about your well being."

Brennan nodded thoughtfully. "We nearly died together, Booth." She said softly, thinking once again about the gravity of the situation that she and her colleague had been in. "Our technique to save ourselves could have very well gotten us killed." She paused for a moment. "I feel that the connection we share is very unique. Shared trauma has a way of uniting people." She whispered.

"Like soldiers in combat." Booth said thoughtfully. "I understand what you mean, brothers in arms."

"Yes." She replied, her tone quite serious. "That is very similar. We shared that moment, that experience, that trauma. I am often surprised you're not more affected by your detainment on that ship. You were alone." She sighed. "Hodgins and I at least had one another."

"Ah, but I wasn't alone." He shook his head, knowing that if he didn't continue, she'd probably argue about his hallucinations, so he made it very clear what he meant.

"I had you and the squints out there looking for me. I knew you'd find me." He said, chuckling. "Okay, I... I hoped you guys would find me." He laughed nervously. "I'm glad you found me." He whispered. "Thank you for finding me."

"I don't know what I would have done if you had died. I don't think I would have survived if she had won. I don't..." She whispered, feeling the pain in her chest, the lump in her throat, she couldn't continue.

"Don't think about it. I'm here. I'm here, you're here... Hodgins is here, and she's rotting in prison." He said, holding her a little tighter. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you everything that happened in Afghanistan. I figured everything was done, I am home and I'm never going back. There is no reason for me to rehash everything if it's not for a specific purpose. They weren't good memories, and I was alone most of the time. When I'm with you, I don't even think about it." He said. "Since you and I have been together, I have concentrated on us, Bones. I've concentrated on the present, not the past. That's what matters to me." He whispered.

"Then do you believe that I should tell you of all that happened in Maluku?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow a bit suspiciously.

"You can tell me anything you want, Bones. I'll always listen." He said, noticing the thoughtful look in her eyes. "What is it?" He asked, tipping his head.

"I was just thinking about today, about how you showed up and took over when Hodgins and I were simply doing our jobs, observing and researching." She said. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Hodgins is extremely strong, Booth. I would have been perfectly safe if someone were to have approached us."

"Does Hodgins carry a gun?" Booth asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No." She said. "But Angela says he is incredibly fit." She replied.

"Gun goes first, Bones. It'll never be squint goes first. Until we know the motives of this murderer. Until we know why Michael's mother was taken and murdered, we can't take any chances. It could have been random." He shrugged. "So unless Hodgins is packing heat, then I'd prefer that I be the one that goes out into the field with you."

"Perhaps I could carry a gun." She raised an eyebrow.

"Not this again." He huffed, rolling his eyes, a slight smile at the corner of his lips.

"I'm just saying." She shrugged, feeling him pulling his body from behind her.

"Oh, I know what you're 'just saying', Bones." He laughed.

"Where are you going?" She asked, following him with her eyes.

"I was going to get ready for bed." He said, stretching his back. "I didn't get much sleep last night, if you remember, and it has been a very long day." He said, watching her nod in agreement. "I love you." He said, leaning down to kiss her gently.

"I love you." She said, kissing him back gently, taking his t-shirt in her fist she held him for a moment. He tipped his head curiously. "Promise me something." She said, and his eyebrow lifted. "The next time you go out at night on a call, can you please call me before you bring home an infant?" She asked.

"What about three-year old?" He asked, a grin lighting up his face.

"Go to bed." She said, pushing her palm against his chest, he let out a laugh. "Check on Michael before you go to sleep, please."

"You got it." He said, letting out a yawn. "Don't stay up too late." He said, watching her nod before he turned and made his way to the bedroom.


	20. Morning Routine

The case seemed to slow quite a bit after those first few days. The lab had been extremely busy with both the case, and with an impending audit that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Many of the lab's resources were being stretched, and it appeared that Cam was far too busy making sure that everything was in its rightful place for the auditors, and had no time to focus on her concerns for Booth. Besides, between the interviews with neighbors, and the tire research that Booth was working on, he hadn't even had the time to stop into the lab.

Somehow among the chaos, Booth and Brennan found themselves locked into a solid domestic routine by the time Thursday rolled around. Everything from waking to showering, to feeding Michael, changing him and readying him for the day was already down to a perfectly choreographed dance around Booth's apartment. Brennan had been staying with Booth for the convenience of caring for the baby, or at least that had been her reasoning. In reality, she hadn't been apart from Booth for a full night since they had reconnected, and neither of them were comfortable with going back to that routine.

Both were dressed for work, but for Booth's suit jacket and Brennan was sitting at the small dining table, her nose in the newspaper. Booth held Michael with one arm and buttered his slice of toast with the other hand. Brennan could hear him droning on about something to Michael, and because she could tell that it was a thinly veiled lecture to her, she ignored it. After another moment or two she looked up at the clock on the wall and sighed. "I need to get to the lab." She said, closing the newspaper as Booth looked over toward her, a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth as he shifted the baby to his other arm and shifted around the counter just as she walked around it to pluck the baby from his arms. "You need to change your tie, you got butter on this one?"

"What? No!" He complained, looking down, seeing the bit of yellow on his tie, he rolled his eyes. He let out a frustrated grunt and sighed.

"You know, if you ate your breakfast before you got dressed, this would be less of a problem." She pointed out, flashing a smile at his annoyed glance. She was sure that her little lecture from earlier was what he had been poking fun at when he was talking to Michael.

"You're lucky you're so beautiful." He said, shoving his toast into his mouth, he chewed and swallowed fast, leaning forward to kiss her gently. "We should have the results on the cameras from the neighbors today. Techs were looking at it yesterday." He said, lifting his eyebrows with a grin, he took another big bite of toast and made a face at her, and Michael laughed.

She smirked at him and shook her head. "You are a bad influence." she said, turning toward the bedroom with the baby to grab Michael's diaper bag.

"But you still love me, right?" He called after her, listening to her lilting laugh as she disappeared from sight. He was just turning to grab his coffee mug when there was a knock at the door. He glanced toward his bedroom but noted that Brennan didn't say anything, so she must not have heard it.

He walked toward the door quickly, and looking through the peep hole in the door, his brow furrowed. He opened the door to find Cam standing there, her brow scrunched in a bit of confusion. "Camille?" He said, tipping his head. "What are you doing here?"

"I just... I wanted to check on you." She said, still standing out in the hallway.

"I'm fine." He said, shrugging.

"You have butter on your tie." She said, pointing at another gob of butter that must have fallen from his toast.

"What?" He said, looking down, he rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding me?"

"You should try eating before you get dressed." Cam said, catching a bit of fire in his eyes. "Or not." She said, holding her hand out in defense, though she couldn't hide her smile. "Or not."

"Cam, why are you here?" He asked again, ushering her into the apartment.

"I was passing through on the way to the lab, and I noticed you were still here. We haven't seen one another much since you've been home from Afghanistan, and I haven't had an opportunity to talk to you, so I figured I'd just stop in before you left for work."

"I'm fine. This case is a little hectic, but really. I'm fine. You've got nothing to worry about. What has you so concerned?"

"Just rumors flying around the lab, and the fact that you've been pretty scarce. Then there's the thing with the baby and Doctor Brennan." She said, watching Booth's eyes widen slightly as he listened.

"What about it?" He asked curiously.

"I don't know, Seeley." She said, shaking her head. She was about to continue, when Booth interrupted her.

"Camille. Really, I'm fine. I promise." He said. "I'm fine, and Bones is..."

"Bones is what?" Brennan asked, stepping into the room, her bag and the diaper bag on one shoulder, and Michael in his carrier. She had a clean tie in one of her hands, and Booth expected a look of surprise on her face, but her expression was calm and collected. Booth did notice that Cam's jaw had dropped slightly, and her eyes widened as she looked between the two of them. Brennan set the carrier and the bags down, and moved toward Booth.

"I was just telling Cam that you're fine." He said, struggling a bit as she pulled at the tie around his neck to loosen it. "Bones." He grumbled. "Bones, I can do it myself." He whined, when she continued to pull the tie from his collar.

She then tossed the clean tie around the back of his neck, and proceeded to attempt to tie it. Booth gently slapped her hands away, and she turned toward Cam. "Yes. I am perfectly fine." She said, her brow knitting in confusion. "Is that all you needed?" And when Cam said nothing, she tipped her head slightly. "Doctor Saroyan?"

"Doctor Brennan." She said, finally able to stammer out something, though her eyes were still wide as she stared at Booth.

"Did you need something from Booth? I can give you some privacy." She prattled on as she tossed the dirty tie onto the arm of the couch and continued busying herself . "I'll have that dry cleaned tomorrow with the suits of yours that I'm dropping off." She said. "I'll meet you in the car." She said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek, she turned and picked up the bags and Michael. "I will see you at the lab, Dr. Saroyan." She said, and with that, she turned sharply and exited the apartment, closing the door securely behind her.

Booth busied himself with his tie, looking down as he straightened it. His mouth hung open a bit as he looked up and pulled the knot to his throat. His eyes flashed to the shocked look on Cam's face, staring at him. "What?" He asked, straightening his collar. "You asked how I was, you asked how Bones was. Now you have your answer." he said, a charm smile sliding onto his lips.

"Don't... don't you look at me like that, Seeley Booth." She said, pointing at him. "What the hell is going on?"

"What?" He chuckled. "We were going to tell you. I swear."

"When?" She said, shaking her head. "When?"

"When were we going to tell you? When we got around to it." He shrugged, checking his belt buckle, he turned for the chair and grabbed his suit jacket.

"No. When did you and Doctor Brennan... When?" She stammered.

"The beach, after we both came home." He said, watching her eyes narrow. "We got there separately, and left together." He shrugged.

"Wow." Cam said, glancing toward the closed door and back toward Booth. "Just... seriously? Why haven't I heard about it?"

"We didn't want to make a big deal about it, but figured that it was okay if a few people knew what was going on. I swear I was going to tell you. This case just has us just a little busier than usual." He said. "I'm sorry."

"No." Cam said, shaking her head. "No. Don't be sorry. It's fine that you waited. I just... I'm glad that you're okay." She said, smiling slightly. "Is there anything else that I need to know?" She asked.

Booth looked at his friend, his eyes narrowing slightly as he thought on the answer to that question.

"Seeley?" She said, her tone serious and stern. "She's not pregnant, is she?" Cam asked.

"No!" Booth laughed. "Not as far as I know." He said, laughing at Cam's warning glare. "No, but we are... kind of engaged too." He said, cringing a bit at Cam's jaw dropping for the second time that morning. "Just... just say congratulations, and then you can go about your day, and we'll talk about it later. Okay?" He said, panicking a bit. "Bones is in the car, and she needs to get to the lab. She gets cranky if I don't get her there on time."

Cam shook her head, perplexed for a moment. She took a deep breath and finally a slight smile came upon her lips. "Congratulations." She said softly.

"Thanks." He grinned, nodding toward the door. "Now let's get to work." He said, as he put his arm on her shoulder and quickly ushered her from the apartment, closing and locking the door securely behind them.


	21. Locked Tight

**August 28th- 7:30am**

Booth climbed into the SUV and took a deep breath, glancing over toward the smile on Brennan's face. "Why did you do that?" He asked, unable to keep the smile from his lips, he watched her shrug her shoulders lightly.

"I don't know what you mean." She said, trying to sound innocent, but failing miserably. She looked out the window and sighed, smiling at her reflection.

"You stranded me in there with Cam." He laughed, starting the car as he watched Cam drive away toward the Jeffersonian, he still waited for Brennan to look at him, but could see that she was still trying not to laugh. Her shoulders were shaking slightly as she tried desperately to stifle her laughter.

"I feel that you are a strong, capable, professional FBI agent with skills that exceed any and all expectation." She said, turning to look at him. It was clear from the mirth in her eyes that she was fighting very hard not to laugh. "I assumed that you could handle telling one of your oldest friends, and my boss, that you and I are in a committed relationship. I don't believe that you needed my presence in order to accomplish that." She said, lifting her own eyebrow at his introspective glare.

"It's fine." He said, shrugging. "It's fine, I see how it is." He teased as he put the car into gear, and drove toward the Jeffersonian, listening intently to the muffled laughter of his partner beside him. "Just know, my sweet, beautiful scientist. As a strong, capable, professional FBI agent... I don't forget." He said, shaking his head at the light laughter and sparkle in her bright blue eyes.

* * *

**August 28th- 4:45pm**

The day was busy, and focus on the case had been brought on the owner of a white 1998 Toyota Corolla. The security camera at the house across the street was grainy at best, but the make and color of the car was clear, and when they did a little more digging, it was learned that the car belonged to the brother of one of the victim's ex-boyfriends. The man was from Maryland, and Booth spent the day with several other agents trying to locate him and the car.

Brennan stayed back at the lab, knowing that Booth might be gone until late that evening, and she felt that it was more important that she remain close to care for Michael in the instance that Booth's absence kept him overnight in Maryland. She also had her psychologist appointment for the next day to think about, focus on, and mildly panic about. Her typing slowed as she stared at the screen, reminding herself briefly of her promise to Booth that she would do it, she would get help, she would get better. She stared at the report on her screen for several moments, letting out a rattled sigh. Her eyes moved across her office to the clock, and for a moment she focused on her iguana in his tank, standing stoic and strong, focused on nothing in particular. For a moment, she envied his boredom. She rolled her eyes and moved back to staring at her report on the screen.

Cam had said nothing about the news that she learned that morning about Booth and Brennan, and Angela had also been fairly absent for most of the day. Brennan looked over at the quiet lab, again distracted by the eerie quiet and wondered for a moment if she shouldn't just retire to Limbo for an hour or two. It was getting close to the end of the work day and she hadn't heard from Booth since he had left for Maryland. She didn't feel particularly nervous, but when he went without her, she was never completely comfortable about his safety. She glanced back to the screen and then let out a sigh, deciding that perhaps all she needed was some time with Michael to boost her spirits. If she wasn't getting anything done, there was no sense in her sticking around the lab.

She slowly stood up, focusing on something on her desk for a moment when she looked up to see a familiar face in her doorway.

"Doctor Sweets." Brennan said, swallowing involuntarily. The psychologist gave her a friendly smile, but Brennan's brow furrowed. "Can I do something for you?"

"I won't be in next week, and our session was cut short yesterday." He started. "I just wanted to stop in quickly to see if there was anything that you wanted to discuss."

Brennan's mouth was slightly agape, her eyes wide with a bit of surprise, and as usual, her brain started firing off other possible reasons for Sweets visit. Did he think something was suspicious? Did Cam call him this morning? Did he overhear or see something that they thought had been private? She stood staring at him for the longest time, before she quickly snapped back into reality. "I'm sorry?" She said, deciding that it was better to give nothing away than to offer up something.

"You and Agent Booth seemed a little stressed when you met with me, and you also insisted that Agent Booth stay when you typically stick together. I just wanted to check in to see if there was anything you wanted to discuss."

"No." She replied, her expression blank.

"Where is Agent Booth today? I thought you were working on a case." He said curiously.

"He is in Maryland, locating a suspect." She said, leaning back on her desk slightly, she crossed her arms in a defensive manner.

"And he didn't take you with him?"

"I am not a child, Doctor Sweets. I don't need to be led around by Agent Booth." She snapped.

"I understand." He said defensively, apparent by the way he held his hands out to her. "How is Michael doing? Is he acclimating well? He appeared quite happy." Sweets said, ensuring that she understood that he wasn't questioning her parenting ability, just the child's welfare.

"He's doing very well." She said, watching Sweets' dark eyes carefully.

"Have you and Agent Booth looked into his next of kin?" He asked, deciding immediately to tread lightly when he saw the slight twitch in her eye at his question.

"Angela has been doing some research for us. The mother's parents are deceased, but there may be a relative that may be able to take him in. Though I fully intend on vetting any candidate completely before handing him over." She said sternly. "I will not have him placed in an unfit household simply to avoid having him go into the foster system."

"I understand completely." Sweets said, nodding. "I commend you for not letting him go into the system, Doctor Brennan." He said sincerely, holding back his typical psychologist continuation of 'how does it make you feel' in favor of keeping his front teeth where they currently resided.

"I'd like to mitigate as much trauma as I possibly can." She said softly, feeling a bit emotional all of a sudden, though she wasn't about to let Sweets know that.

"Well, I'll be out next week, but I look forward to seeing you and Agent Booth the following Tuesday for our usual appointment." He said, nodding. He watched her eyes carefully, and there was a split second that he was sure she wanted to say something further. He paused for a beat and smiled. "Have a good week."

"You too, Sweets." She said with a friendly smile, watching as he turned and walked out of her office after giving her a friendly wave.

She turned to start gathering her things when her cell phone began to vibrate across her desk. She sighed and picked it up, immediately noticing the caller. "Brennan." She said, reaching around her desk for her bag.

"Hey, Bones." Booth sounded upbeat, but there was a bit of a downturn of his tone that she noticed immediately.

"You didn't find him yet, did you?" She sighed.

"Nope." He said, clearing his throat. "It looks like I'm going to have to be here overnight at the very least." He said, literally feeling the tension in the pause over the line. "Bones?"

"That's fine." She said, swallowing a bit hard. "It's fine. I can handle it." She said.

"You can always ask Angela to stay the night with you if you need help with Michael or..."

"I said that I can handle it, Booth." She grunted.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing." She said abruptly. "I just don't understand why people seem to think that I am completely inept without you by my side. I've been alone most of my life, Booth. I can handle it for one more night." She said angrily, noting the complete silence in the line. "Or are you worried about my nightmares with the baby around?" She said, with a tone akin to venom on her tongue.

"Stop." He said, his tone serious and deep. He listened to the silence on the line for a number of seconds. "I will call you later, Bones. I just wanted to let you know that I have to stay." He said, pausing for a moment.

She released a long breath into the line, feeling her anger deflating. "I love you." She said, swallowing hard as if she didn't expect him to say it back.

"I love you, Bones." He said. "I'll call a little later to check in. Get home, get some food for you and Mikey, and I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay." She said softly.

"Make sure you lock up the apartment tight." He said, simply out of caution and habit, he could hear a low growl in the line. "I'll call soon, love you." He said, hanging up the phone before she snapped at him again.


	22. Miss You Much

**August 28th- 7:30pm  
**

Brennan walked into her apartment, glancing behind her toward the doorman who had insisted on carrying the travel crib upstairs for her. She smiled and lifted the baby's seat into the room, turning to face the man walking in behind her. He set the folded crib down, as well as the diaper bag and several plastic grocery bags that he had insisted on carrying in, and smiled toward Brennan. "Thank you for your help, William." She said to the young man.

"It was no problem, Doctor Brennan." He said with a smile. He was fairly new to the building, and Brennan had always been kind to him. He turned to leave and Brennan touched his arm. She handed him a ten dollar bill and her eyes met his. "Thank you, Doctor Brennan, I am not supposed to take..."

"Just take it, William. I would like to show my appreciation for your help, and I assure you that your superiors will not find out." She smiled. He took the money gratefully. "Thank you. Have a safe evening." She said, watching the polite nod of the young man.

"Thank you, Doctor Brennan. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask." He said, giving her a smile as he quickly excused himself.

She reached forward and locked the deadbolt and then turned and looked down at the big blue eyes staring up at her. She smiled toward the happy baby watching her and leaned down to carefully remove Michael from his seat. "Hey there, handsome." She said, lifting him into her arms, she snuggled him close as she walked around the room. "Welcome to my apartment." She said in a tender voice, feeling just slightly silly that she was speaking to a baby that couldn't reply. "Since Booth is out of town tonight, I figured that we could spend some time here. It's not as cozy as his place, but it's home." She said, running a finger over the soft skin of the baby's cheek. "What do you think about that? Huh?" She asked, tickling Michael to hear his laugh. "Sweet boy." She whispered, kissing his forehead.

Michael clung to her tightly, resting his head on her shoulder as she gently bounced him. "Are you a hungry little guy? I know I'm hungry. Let's go see what we have, huh?" She said, heading toward the kitchen, grabbing the diaper bag and the grocery bags, she brought them into the kitchen with her and set them on the counter. She held Michael to her as she carefully pulled a few items for dinner, as well as preparations for Michael's dinner. She was marveling at her skill at doing most things one handed, and smiled as she prepared everything with ease. She focused on her task, talking to the baby the whole time, when her attention was suddenly pulled away by the sound of her phone ringing. She turned and picked up the phone from the counter, smiling slightly at Booth's name across the screen. "Hey." She said into the line, she could hear a light laugh on the other end of the line.

"That's how you're answering your phone now? Hey..?" He laughed.

"I knew it was you. I felt that there was no need for formalities." She said with a smile. "Are you in your hotel?"

"Yes." He replied, allowing a bit of quiet to fall between them. "I miss you." He said softly.

"I apologize for earlier. I was abrupt and rude, and... I'm sorry." She said quickly. "I miss you too."

"It's fine, Bones."

"No." She said softly, bouncing Michael as she talked. "I allowed Sweets to get into my head, and I was feeling a bit emotional. I shouldn't have taken it out on you, and I am sorry."

"You're allowed to be emotional sometimes, Bones. It's fine. I'm upset that I am stuck here without you."

"You'd rather be stuck there with me?" She asked.

"I'd be stuck anywhere with you, baby." He teased, listening to her easy laugh. "We're okay, Bones. No worries. Are you at my place?"

"I am at mine." She replied, listening to a hum on the line. "I dislike being at your apartment when you're not around. I find that it makes me uncomfortable. Being surrounded by your things and not you, knowing that you won't be back... It reminds me of..." She stopped, swallowing hard. "Nothing... I don't know." She avoided, letting out a heavy breath.

"It reminds you of what?" Booth asked.

"Nothing." She said, clearing her throat, indicating that she would not continue the line of questioning at this time. "My appointment is tomorrow with the psychologist, perhaps I'll deal with that issue with all of the other issues." She said, trying to make a joke, though it fell flat.

"Bones." Booth said softly.

"I am fine, Booth. I promise." She said, trying to find a small smile. "You've said yourself that sometimes I think too much, well this is just another example." She sighed. "I don't like being away from you. I don't like not having your back. That's all it is."

"I'm safe, Bones. I'm in a hotel room. A stinky, plain, overused, undercleaned, hotel room with pink and white striped wallpaper that is peeling from the top, and a bathroom with a strange, unexplained fist sized hole in the wall that nobody cared enough to repair."

"Did you bring some luminol and a black light?" She asked, humored by his half laugh, half gag.

"My guess is that this place would light up like the stage of a rock concert." He laughed, feeling the warmth in his heart at her laugh as well. "How is Mikey doing?"

"He's hungry." She said in a teasing tone. "I'm hungry as well." She said.

"Ah." Booth laughed. "Well, I'm going to order a pizza in, because I don't want to go back out again, and you may have made me lose my appetite with that whole luminol joke." He teased. "Do you want me to call you later?"

"I will call you after I get Michael to bed, okay?" She asked.

"You got it." He said, expecting her to say something more, though the line went quiet. "Bones?" He said, wondering if he had lost the connection. "Bones, are you okay?"

"I think... I think someone is at the door." She said, listening. She would hear her doorknob wiggling a little, and then a gentle tapping knock. It was as if someone was checking to see if she was there before they broke in. Brennan could feel her heart rate increase. "It sounds like someone is trying to break in." She swallowed hard.

"Bones?" He said, the tone of his voice full of alarm. "Bones, you have Michael with you." He said, though he knew she was no longer listening.

There was a split second of fear, and she wondered for a moment how she could defend herself with the baby right there if someone were to be breaking into her apartment. Instead, she held the phone in her hand and approached the door. She knew if something happened, she'd have Booth on the other end of the line. She marched across the apartment and stopped at the door, looking through the peep hole, she sighed before she unlatched the lock, swinging the door open.

"Dad?" She said, watching Max's jaw drop slightly, his eyes widen in surprise.

"Tempe." He said, his face turning a bit pale at being caught, he offered her a sheepish smile.

She lifted the phone to her ear and sighed. "It's my father." She said, her tone grumbling as she glared at Max.

"I heard." Booth said softly. "I'll talk to you later." He said. "I love you, be safe. Tell Max to cut it out."

"I intend to. I love you." She said into the line, hitching Michael up a bit on her hip. She hit the button and slipped her phone into her pocket, watching the humored expression on Max's face. "What are you doing here, Dad?" She sighed.

"What? A dad can't just come by and visit his daughter once in a while?" He asked, the faux innocence in his voice was nauseating.

"What is that in your hand? Is that a lock pick?" She asked quickly, her anger quickly rising with each passing second. She reached forward and grabbed the lock picking kit from his hands. "I thought I took this away from you! What did you do? Break in again and steal it back?"

"No. I have more than one set. Can I have that back?" He asked, following her inside.

"No." She shook her head. "No you can't have it back. What is wrong with you?" She asked, closing the door behind her father, she turned the deadbolt and turned toward Max.

"Who is this little guy?" Max asked, seeing the baby's wide blue eyes as he stared at the stranger, his grip remained on Brennan's shirt.

"This is Michael." She said, her tone full of frustration. "What do you want, Dad? Why are you here? Why did security let you up here again?" She asked.

"That young kid downstairs doesn't know what he's doing." Max shrugged. "Very easy to slip past him." He babbled, and she stomped past him with a head shake, ignoring him for the time being. "Who is Michael?" He asked, following after her. "Tempe, stop walking away from me." Max said, walking into the kitchen behind her. "Tempe, stop."

"What?" Brennan said, turning to face her father. Her tone was a bit harsh, and she could feel Michael pull into her tighter. "Why can't you call me on the phone like a regular father? Why do I only see you when you break into my apartment?"

"Tempe." He said, this tone almost a whine.

"Stop simpering and just speak to me like an adult!" She exclaimed. Suddenly Michael started to cry, feeling the tension and anger radiating from Brennan's body. "Great." She said with a sigh. "Thanks, Dad." She grunted, bouncing Michael a little, trying to calm him.

"Here." Max said, reaching for the baby. "Let me hold him for you." He said, watching his daughter care for the child as if he were her own. She bounced him and soothed him, and glared toward her father. "Tempe, it's fine. I can handle a baby. Finish what you were doing. I'll hold Michael. We can talk." He said, tipping his head. "It's okay." He said, beckoning her to give him the baby. "It's okay."

She sighed, eyeing her father carefully. Finally, she stepped forward and carefully lifted Michael over to Max. The baby seemed to calm immediately once Max was holding him, his eyes focused across at Brennan. His tiny lower lip was still trembling a bit, and when her finger gently ran down the baby's cheek, he smiled at her. "There you go, little one. No more tears." She said, tipping her head as the baby let out a giggle.

"You're very good with him." Max said, earning a slight scowl from his daughter.

"Why wouldn't I be? I am very good with children." She said, still scowling.

"He really likes you, Tempe." He said softly. "That's all I'm saying." Max replied.

She sighed a little and glanced to Max before she went about preparing her dinner, and something for Michael. "Booth said you broke into my apartment the last time because you were worried about me." She said, focusing her attention on her task. She didn't hear her father respond, so her eyes moved in his direction. "What is your excuse this time?"

"I just... I wanted to see you." He shrugged. "You and Booth went on your trip, and you've been staying at his place. I just wanted to check in on you." He said, bouncing the little boy in his arms. "Speaking of you and Booth, don't you think things are moving a little fast?" He asked, a chuckle on his lips.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her head twisting to look at her father's humored expression, he tilted it toward the baby. "Oh. Michael?" She asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I know I'm getting older and sometimes I forget what day it is, but I think I'd remember you and Booth having a kid." He chuckled.

"Michael is a foster child." She said, not wishing to take it any further than that. While she did trust Max, she didn't feel that he had earned all of the facts.

"A foster child." Max nodded, taking the bottle from Brennan's hand as she reached it over toward him. "That's it? You just took in a foster child."

"Yes." She said, pulling her hand back, she watched Max carefully place the bottle between Michael's waiting lips.

"Why?" He asked, not trying to put himself into a position to cause her anger, but he could see a flash of something in her blue eyes that surprised him, a warning sign for Max to tread very carefully. .

"Why not?" She began, noting her father's confusion, she could feel a dart of resentment shoot straight to her heart. He wanted the truth, she'd give it to him. "Because the foster system is where children are lost, and Michael deserves better than that." She said, her steely eyes boring into him for a moment. Suddenly, foregoing the preparation of her own dinner to reach for the baby, she has a sudden need to hold him. Max relinquished the child to his daughter, and watched as she carefully held the bottle to the child's lips, and he latches on hungrily, keeping his focus directly on Brennan's eyes. Max watches her physically relax as she is mesmerized by the child's rhythmic feeding.

"Where is Booth?" He asked after a moment.

"He's in Maryland." She responded, continuing to stare at the baby. "He'll be there overnight." She said softly. "It's just me and Mikey tonight." She said, rocking the baby gently. She smiled at the baby as she said his nickname, her mind instantly going to Booth. "We're working on a case." She said.

Max watched her for a few more minutes, quietly observing his daughter. He could feel his heart swelling at pride at the same time he could feel his own guilt crushing down on it. "I'm proud of you, honey." Max said, watching Brennan's eyes flick up to his for a moment. "I just... I'm proud of you."

"For what?" She asked, a bit of confusion in her eyes.

"For doing whatever it takes to make you happy." He said, trying his hardest not to set her off, he is almost surprised when she gives him a slight smile.

"Thanks, Dad." She whispers, as she looks back down at Michael, her anxiety seemingly dissipated into the air. She looks back toward Max. "Can you hold him while I make my dinner?" She asked.

"Sure." Max said, reaching for the infant, she carefully moved him into her father's waiting arms.

"Are you hungry?" She asked, tipping her head with a slight smile. "I can make enough for both of us." She said, nodding toward her ingredients.

"Sure." Max said with a smile, unsure of what she was going to make, but also not even curious about it, for he was finally having an honest time with his daughter, and he would give anything for a spark of normalcy between them.


	23. Sweetest Dreams

**August 28th****\- ****8:30 pm-**

When dinner was finished, and Max had said goodbye, Brennan went about getting Michael ready for bed.

He had been fed and changed, and she dressed him in a set of warm pajamas with colored dinosaur bones on them. She smiled as she snapped it up, watching his eyes droop sleepily, even as his focus remained on his caregiver. "You are such a sweet little boy." She whispered to him, dropping a kiss on his nose. She whispered more gentle, soothing words, and gently rocked him into her arms, his blue eyes flickering shut as she watched over him, admiring the baby's little nose wiggle in his sleep, and the gentle suckling sound from his lips as he dreamed. She watched his eyes move beneath his delicate eyelids, those long dark eyelashes one of his most striking features and gently ran her finger over his round cheeks. She found herself humming a gentle tune, and noted the gentle peace that seemed to consume her when she held the child close.

Prepared to rest, but not quite ready for bed, she settled on her couch with Michael in her arms, and pulled the phone from her pocket. She settled back and dialed Booth's number, waiting patiently until he picked up on the second ring.v"Hey." Booth said, his tone showing the humor beneath his voice. He listened for her slight giggle, and wasn't disappointed.

"Just because I answered the phone like that earlier, doesn't mean you can answer like that now." She teased, listening to the easy sound of his chuckle on the other end of the line. "How are you feeling?" She asked, listening to the sigh on the other end of the line.

"The last time I was in a hotel room alone, was the night of our first date." He said, a tender smile on his lips that she could see if she closed her eyes. "It was agony then, and it's agony now. I miss you, Bones."

"I miss you too, Booth." She said, looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms.

"So what did Max want?" Booth asked, switching gears from sweet to serious. He knew that there was no reason to dance around the subject, so he dove right in.

"He was checking in on me, you know how he does it." She said, feeling a bit sad all of a sudden. "I just… I want things to be normal between us, but he makes it so difficult."

"I know, Bones. He's still trying to get to know you, to understand you. He just doesn't understand the way that you work, the way that you think, the way that you feel. He doesn't quite still understand that you're not that little kid that he left behind."

"You do." She said, letting out a rueful laugh. "You understand how I think, how I feel."

"I do." He said, smiling slightly. "I do understand you." He said. "I mean, most of the time, when you're not saying super squinty things." He said, listening to her light laugh. "There's that laugh that I love." He paused. "I love you, Bones."

"I love you, Booth." She said, letting out a sigh. "I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight." She said.

"Why? You're going to miss my snoring?" He asked, listening to her soft laugh.

"You don't snore." She said. "Not enough to keep me from sleeping, anyway." She teased, listening to his gentle groan. "I am worried about nightmares." She said.

"I know." He replied. "I know you're worried, but you can't keep yourself from sleeping. Are you in bed now?" He asked.

"I'm on the couch with Michael. He's sleeping in my arms." She said softly.

"Lucky guy." Booth teased. "Listen, call me when you're in bed. I'll talk to you until you fall asleep." He said softly.

"How will you chattering in my ear help me sleep?" She asked playfully.

"Maybe it won't, but I won't be happy unless I try." He said softly. "I want your voice to be the last thing that I hear before I fall asleep." He said softly.

"Okay." She said, feeling the sincerity in his words. "I'll call you when I'm in bed." She said, suddenly feeling shy. "It won't be long. I am quite tired."

"Good. I'll talk to you soon." He said.

"Talk to you soon." She replied, and disconnected the call, setting the phone beside her. She looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms, smiling at his easily contented expression, his eyes closed tightly. She lifted him slightly and kissed his forehead, before she pulled herself from the couch and concentrated on getting both Michael and herself into bed.

* * *

**10:30-**

After being sure that Michael was snug in his bed, and she had finished her nighttime routine, Brennan climbed into her side of the bed. She felt a little silly lying on one side of the bed when Booth wasn't there, but tried to remind herself that she was simply trying to remain close to the sleeping baby just in case he woke in the middle of the night. Once settled among the blankets, she reached for her phone and quickly pressed the call button for Booth. It was only one ring this time, and it made her smile.

"I was waiting for you." He said, his voice was low a little seductive, enough to make a sly smile slip onto her lips.

"You can't do that." She whispered, burrowing into her blankets as she switched off the bedroom light.

"I can't wait for you?" He teased.

"You can't say it like that, like you're here to kiss me goodnight." She said, letting a bit of a whine slip into her voice.

"So you don't want to talk dirty?" He asked, laughing at her groan on the line.

"Stop!" She groaned. "This will not help me sleep." She whined.

"Okay, okay." He said, sighing happily into the line. "Just close your eyes." He said. "Are your eyes closed?"

"No." She giggled.

"Well, close them." He said, trying to sound serious. "How about now?"

"They're closed." She said, letting out a sigh. She waited a moment, and he said nothing. "Booth?"

"Shh..." He whispered. "I'm right here."

"Are your eyes closed?" She asked.

"Yes." He replied. "Now hush." He said. "Remember the lighthouse?" He asked suddenly, his tone was soft and gentle. "Not the climb, but the wind at the top?"

"Yes." She said softly.

"I remember your hair was blowing a little, and the smell of the ocean air." He said.

"Mm..." She hummed. "Your arms around me." She hummed.

"Yes." He whispered. "I love you." He whispered.

She sighed again as he continued to talk, his gentle voice in her ear, and the thought of his arms wrapped around her keeping them both warm as they drifted off to sleep together.

Her fingertips moved to the dolphin on the necklace she was wearing, a slow smile rising on her lips. "I love you." She whispered back.

"That's what you're going to dream of." Booth said softly. "That's what you're going to think about right now as you go to sleep. "You're going to feel the wind, you're going to smell the ocean breeze, and you're going to feel my gentle kisses on your cheek and neck."

"Mm..." She hummed, feeling the heavy pull of sleep. "Thank you, Booth." She whispered, her voice groggy and sleepy.

"Just listen to my voice, concentrate on my tone, and focus on the words and the way I'm talking. Focus on the feeling of my arms around you."

"I miss you." She mumbled, almost unintelligibly.

"I miss you, baby." Booth whispered, as his gentle tone and voice slowly lulled her into a restful sleep.


	24. Got to Check the E-mail

**Alright folks. I apologize for the delay. I kind of started reading other fics, and lost my muse there for a bit, and then I forgot the case in the story, so I had to re-read the whole thing and write notes and... you really don't want to hear about it... You want to read. So... comments and reviews for my time...? Even trade. Hope everyone is staying healthy. I'll try to make sure the next update appears a little sooner next time. Thanks readers. -PJ.**

* * *

**Friday, August 29th – 7:30am-**

Brennan walked briskly into the lab, her eyes flicking around as she walked noticed the peace of her sanctuary. She had dropped Michael off at the daycare, and was happily entering her domain. The night had been restful despite knowing what the day ahead held for her, and she was woken a few minutes before her alarm by the ringing of her phone that was still rested in her hand when she woke.

* * *

_"Hello?" She mumbled blearily into the phone, her voice a little deeper than usual, the fact that she had been awoken evident in the sound of her voice. _

_"Good morning, beautiful." Booth's voice danced over the line. He imagined the way her face would scrunch, knowing how much she loved sleeping in. He thought of letting her sleep a little longer but he couldn't wait another moment to hear her voice. "Bones?" he singsonged across the line, letting out a playful chuckle at her groan._

_"I'm gonna hang up on you now." She mumbled. "You sound way too happy to be awake this early." _

_"Hey, don't hang up." He said, dropping off the bit of humor in his voice as well as his volume. "How did you sleep?"_

_"Mm… would you like the sarcastic answer, or the truth?" She sighed sleepily. She waited a beat and let out a laugh as she stretched and yawned. "I slept very well. Thank you." _

_"Good." He said softly. "How is Michael doing? Did he sleep through the night?" _

_"He did." She replied. "I think he's comfortable with me. That makes me happy." She said, leaning over toward the edge of the bed, looking down at the sleeping infant. "Booth." She said softly, a tinge of sadness in her voice._

_"I know, Bones." He said. "I know that you need him to be safe, that you need him to be somewhere he will be well taken care of. We're going to make sure we take very good care of him, Bones. You have my word." He said, listening to her silence._

_"I believe in your word, Booth." She said. "But that's not going to stop them from taking him away from us." She sighed. "I should get up and get ready. You also have work to do, so that you can come home to us." She said, dropping fears that she had just expressed as quickly as they had arisen. "I miss you."_

_"I miss you too, Bones. I'll call you at the lab a little later, let you know how the search is going." He replied. "I love you."_

_"I love you, Booth. Please be safe." She said, disconnecting the call with a soft smile on her lips, just as her alarm went off._

* * *

Brennan moved into her office, setting her bag on her desk as she moved around to her chair. She sat comfortably and moved the mouse to wake up her computer, taking a slow deep breath as she perused her e-mail box. Nothing case related had come through, though she did feel her throat constrict when she noticed the e-mail from child protective services. There had been an inquiry sent out about Michael to the mother's extended family, and Brennan knew that the little boy's fate was just a click away. The pointer hovered over the message, and her lower lip slipped into her mouth as she sincerely wondered if she could pretend that she hadn't seen the e-mail. Her mind was completely consumed with these thoughts, so consumed that she didn't see the person appear in her doorway.

"Doctor B?" Hodgins voice sent her eyes directly to his, her jaw opened slightly. "I'm sorry, did I startle you?"

"No." She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I didn't realize anyone else was here." She said, giving the bug man a tight smile. "Did you need to show me something?"

"Uh, yeah." He said, watching his friend and colleague for a moment to make sure she was alright. She stood up, and her smile became a little more natural, and without another word, she grabbed her lab coat and followed him into the lab.

* * *

**Friday, August 29th – 12:30pm-**

By the time lunchtime rolled around, Brennan had worked herself up to a tight ball of nerves. Booth had called to say that they had apprehended their suspect and would be returning him to D.C. for questioning, but that wasn't one of her worries. She knew that he'd get his man. He was a strong, competent, smart agent, with or without her help. That wasn't what was fraying her nerves. Her appointment with Dr. Saunders was looming, a 2pm appointment where she would be required to at least begin the process of revealing some of her darkest fears was coming very quickly, but that wasn't what was twisting her stomach in knots.

It was that damn e-mail.

She stared at the subject line, Case #344783- Danby, Michael Joseph. She could feel her jaw clench slightly, her eyes focusing on the words until she stared so hard she could almost see the individual pixels on the screen. She shifted the cursor over the e-mail, when she heard shuffling at her door, and her eyes lifted to see the light blocked by a familiar form.

"Booth." She said, a smile lifting on her lips, and relief seemed to just rush into her body. It must have been obvious, because she watched his smile turn to concern.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked. He was instantly by her desk before she could even reply. "What happened?"

"You're here." She smiled. Her eyes were a little glassy, her smile wobbly as if she were on the verge of crying.

"I told you I was coming back." He said, letting out a puff of air that almost sounded like a scoff. "Bones."

"I'm fine." She said, sucking in a deep breath and letting it out quickly. "I'm fine." She said, instantly straightening, the mask of professionalism sliding firmly back into place. "How did the interrogation go?"

"We haven't done it yet. He's still en route. I wanted to stop and see you. Maybe go to lunch." He said, crouching down, he took her hand. "What's going on? You looked upset. Are you worried about your appointment?"

She looked into his eyes, and immediately knew that she couldn't brush it off or lie. "I... Child Protective Services is following up." She said, nodding toward her screen.

He looked toward the screen, and he saw the e-mail. "What did they say?" He asked.

"I... I just..." She stammered, lifting her hand to swipe over her cheek, she could feel the warmth there. "I can't bring myself to open it. You can open it." She said, looking toward his eyes.

"Nah." He said, a slight smile on his lips. "Don't worry about it. Let's go get lunch." He said, giving her hand a little tug as he tried to pull her up. She resisted a bit.

"Booth." She said, her tone coming out in a whine, he tipped his head. "Booth, I got the e-mail this morning. I should really look at it."

"If you haven't read it yet, it's not going to matter for another half hour." He said, giving her hand a tug, she let him pull her into standing, and she looked toward the screen. "You have to get to your appointment, and I am going to die of starvation if we don't eat right now." He said, stopping his pulling to turn around, allowing her to crash into his chest. He smiled into her worried eyes, a sparkle within them seemed to clear hers of worry for a moment. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." She mumbled, letting out a sigh.

He leaned down and kissed her gently, tipping his head as he silently told her that everything was going to be just fine. "Let's go eat." He grinned.

She rolled her eyes playfully and let out a huff. "I suppose I'm hungry."

"Yep. You're hungry." He said. "I'm starving to death, and I can hear the monster in your stomach right now." He said, turning around, he grabbed her hand, as he listened to her diatribe about stomach acid, digestion and sounds and how he couldn't possibly be starving to death, all the while keeping her close as he ushered her out of the lab.


	25. Falling With You

**Friday, August 29th – 12:30pm-**

Booth escorted Brennan from the lab, and with an unspoken decision, they skipped the car and made their way for the exit on foot. It was a nice warm day, and Booth was happy to have his Bones on his arm where she belonged once again. Instead of holding her hand, he placed his hand at the small of her back and they walked together toward the diner. He knew for a fact that one never knew when Sweets would come around a corner, or slide into the seat next to them, so they were very careful about public displays of affection. It was normal for them anyway to walk a little closer to one another without actually touching.

Booth could feel the tension radiating from her body. "Hey." Booth said, moving quickly in front of her as they approached their lunch venue. She nearly ran into him, looking up into his eyes.

"What?" She asked, her nose a bit higher in the air, her eyes focusing on his.

"You okay?" He asked, moving forward slightly, there was but a sliver of light between the two of them.

"I'm fine." She said, narrowing her blue eyes just a bit. "I'm hungry." She said, her lower jaw jutting out slightly, she sucked in a breath and let it out quickly. "I'm fine." She said again.

"You're nervous." He replied.

"Yes." She stated clearly. "And you know why I'm nervous." She said, taking a step back. "You rushed me out of my office. I should have read that e-mail." She started to turn away, and he took her arm gently in his, careful not to grasp it too tightly, for he knew her wrath if he took a misstep, and sincerely wanted to avoid it. She turned and faced him. "What?"

"I missed you, Bones." He said, watching her eyes narrow slightly, her head tilt.

"You know something." She said, not as a question but almost an accusation, and when she saw his eyebrow lift, her suspicion was confirmed. "What do you know, Booth?" She said, taking a step out of his grasp, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Let's go get lunch, and we'll talk." He said, trying to keep his tone friendly, and not as humored as he clearly seemed to be. "Come on, Bones." He said, nodding toward the diner.

"It's bad, isn't it? Or did they find his family? Are they into drugs or something? What do you know? They're nice, aren't they? Model citizens?" She said, letting out a sigh, her lip started to tremble a little. "That's good, right? I mean, he needs his family. He'll be happier with his family than he would be with us, people who he belongs with and…." She shrugged, her eyes starting to look far away.

"Woah, woah, Bones… are you guessing?" He asked, quirking his lip up a bit in good humor. "You never guess."

She darted her eyes back to his and scowled. "I'm postulating." She said with a grunt. "Because you're not talking." She let out a sigh. "I'm hungry." She said, and pushed past him, turning toward the door of the diner. She could sense him right behind her, and feel his warmth when his arm reached past her to push open the door before she could. She glanced back at him and could see the smile in his eyes. It was inexplicable, how he could be so happy when something so important was hanging in the balance. And with the knowledge that he may be keeping something from her, it only succeeded in making her mood just a little bit worse.

She stalked through the diner toward their typical table, sliding into the seat without looking up. Her eyes focused on the menu that was already sitting on the table, and she slid it slightly away from her view. She continued to stare at the table, her fingers tapping lightly on the formica. She saw his hands coming for hers, and swiftly moved them into her lap, looking up into his eyes, she challenged him with her gaze, and he placed his palms against the table as a peace offering. "Hey. I missed you." He said, tipping his head with a slight smile, he watched her gaze become a bit more disarmed. When he saw that, his smile became a little brighter.

"You've said that already." She said, sighing slightly.

"Listen, I was going to have Parker come over this weekend. School starts up in a little over a week, and I thought maybe we could spend some time with him before he's busy with homework and sports, and science projects." He said, watching her shrug slightly. "If you have things to do, I can always just hang out with him at my place. I just thought that it would give us an opportunity for him to meet Michael and…"

"That would be unfair to Parker." She said, a bit of fire flickering in her eyes. "To introduce him to Michael and then have him go off with his family. It would be confusing and…" She noticed he was watching her with raised eyebrows as if he were trying to stifle an interruption. "What?" She said.

"Would you let me finish my sentence?" He asked, tipping his head. He watched her hands slide back up onto the table. She was twisting the ring on her finger, a nervous tick that seemed to have taken over for her earlier tick of clasping her necklace.

"Fine." She sighed. "Go on."

He reached forward and took her hand in his, gently running his finger over the ring, focusing on the big blue eyes that were staring across at him expectantly. "I thought it would give us an opportunity for Parker to meet Michael, and discuss the next steps in his care." He said, watching her take a deep breath, ready to defend her stance. "I got a phone call this morning. That's what the e-mail in your box is about. Michael has no next of kin, no family to take him in. He's a true orphan. So, you and I have things to discuss, decisions to make, and Parker should be part of those decisions and discussions, don't you agree?"

Brennan released that held breath, but found that her throat was dry, and her voice wouldn't come. She glanced up as the waitress stepped to their table, and still found that her voice was lost. Booth grinned brightly at the waitress, in that way he smiled at other women. It wasn't flirtatious or charming, but polite, with a hint of curiosity. He gained the waitress' full attention and ordered their lunch, and when he turned back to Brennan he noticed that her eyes were closed. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes." She said, finally finding her words, her eyes popped open and he could see that there was a trace of wetness within them. "I'm okay." She gave him a wobbly smile, and sighed. "I'm just a little overwhelmed right this minute, that's all." She said, swiping at the stray tear that was making its way from the corner of her eye. "I'm okay. I promise." She gave his hand a squeeze and sighed. "I missed you, and I am feeling extremely overwhelmed about my appointment this afternoon, and all of this with Michael… I just… I feel like I'm spiraling. I feel like I'm falling."

"You're not falling, Bones. I promise. And even if you felt like you were, you're not going anywhere without me." He said, tipping his head. "Nothing is set in stone right now. We are going to sit down and have a serious conversation about all of this tonight, and this weekend." He said softly. "We have custody of him until we make a decision. He's not going anywhere, and you and I are solid." His supportive smile stayed in place until he saw her eyes sparkle, and a slight smile lift her lips. "We are the ones in the driver's seat here, Bones."

"I don't know what that means." She all but whimpered back.

"It means that you and I are the ones that can make the decision for our future. We're not waiting on someone else to make a decision for us, and that's not something we're used to, but it's a good thing." He looked up as the waitress delivered their lunch. He looked across at Brennan again, and watched her eyes focus on him. He could see her shoulders straighten slightly, and she smiled and thanked the waitress. She looked across at Booth as she sat back, pulling her fingers from his hand, she looked at her lunch plate as a slow grin raised on her lips. "What?" He said, not able to help his own smile from appearing.

"I'm just imagining the look on Sweets face when he finally realizes what has been going on between you and I." She said, reaching across for one of his fries. He pushed his plate toward her as he let out a laugh.

"The boy's head is going to explode." He said, imitating his head exploding with his hands. He smiled at Brennan's grin, which only widened at her throaty laugh that tamped down to a giggle that invaded his senses. "I love you, Bones."

"I am well aware of that." She winked as she took another fry. "And while I am terrified of what comes next. I know that if I start to fall, you're right there with me."

"Every single second, Bones." He said, smiling back at her. "Without fail."


	26. Head Shrinker

**Friday, August 29th- 1:50pm-**

Brennan found herself sitting in a waiting room alone, two leather chairs beside her, and a receptionist across the way. The ambiance of the room was comforting, the walls covered in a dark wood, and dark green wallpaper, the pictures as nondescript as any in a doctor's office. She took a brief glance at her watch, and her eyes flicked to the ring on her finger, a smile sliding onto her lips. She focused on the intricate design of the ring for a moment, running her finger over the smooth lines of the dolphin design, allowing her thoughts to migrate to Booth. She thought of his smile, his laugh, the way his hand felt when it was in her own. She thought of his strength, and his poise, and she herself felt a lot less lonely. She concentrated on the ring, when she heard the gentle buzz of her phone, indicating an incoming text message. She lifted the phone and glanced at the text, instantly smiling at Booth's sentiment.

_'I know you don't believe in it, but I do. Good luck, Bones.'_

She shook her head and looked at the words, imagining that slightly sarcastic tone in his voice, and the knowing smile on his lips. She was about to send a reply, when the office door opened, and a woman not much taller than five feet stepped into the room. She had long, dark hair and her clothes were somewhat casual, despite the tight professionalism that surrounded her.

"Doctor Brennan?" She said, smiling at Brennan. She stepped forward with her hand extended, a bright smile on her face that seemed genuine. "I'm Doctor Saunders. You can call me Penny if you like, whatever makes you most comfortable." She said as Brennan shook her hand. "Some people prefer the more professional, some prefer that I come across a little more relaxed. Whatever makes you most comfortable is just fine." She smiled.

Her tone was clear and not coddling, and while her words came across as bubbly, she was very carefully reading Brennan's reactions to her words, and adjusting accordingly. She smiled and nodded toward her office. "Come on inside." She said.

Brennan swallowed hard, slipping her phone into her pocket, she followed Doctor Saunders into her office. She looked around the spacious office, noting that it looked more like a living room or a study than a therapist's office. She had a couch in one corner that looked to be made of soft leather, and a set of armchairs in another corner near a large bookcase. She had a large desk, with two comfortable leather chairs before it. Brennan turned her attention once again to the therapist and smiled a bit nervously.

"Have a seat here at my desk. Those seats are really comfortable." She said, smiling brightly. "Sometimes I like to sit in the other one during the sessions, just because they're more comfortable than my desk chair." She said with a friendly shrug.

Brennan stepped to one of the chairs, and sank comfortably into the leather, feeling as though it was enveloping her. "I completely understand your preference of these chairs." She said, suddenly feeling a bit more comfortable.

"I am a creature of comfort, for sure." She said happily. "Doctor Brennan, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"You may call me Temperance, or Tempe, Doctor Saunders." Brennan said sincerely. "I will most likely remain on the professional side toward you. I've been told that it is a way of distancing myself from things that bother me. I need to be honest. I sincerely dislike psychology." She said, straightening in her seat. "Also, while I have been told that I can come across as quite self-centered, I don't like discussing my vulnerabilities, least of all to a stranger."

"I can see that honesty is important to you as well." Doctor Saunders smiled.

"Extremely." She nodded.

"Would you mind if I told you a little about myself before we get started on you?" Doctor Saunders asked, watching Brennan relax a little more. "It might help you move forward in the way that you want to move forward, if you know a little about who you're talking to."

"That would be fine." Brennan nodded.

"Well, I'm thirty-two years old. I've been married for four years and I have a two year old daughter at home." She smiled, watching Brennan smile slightly. "I grew up with a single mother who worked full time, so I was a latch-key kid. I would spend my afternoons after school at the park alone a lot. I found that I enjoyed watching people, the interaction of people, the movement of people. I just enjoyed focusing on those around me as if I could figure out who they were just by the way they moved or talked to one another. That was how I found my way to psychology."

"That's why I became an anthropologist." Brennan replied, though she was a little alarmed by her own voice. It was softer than typical, and imploring. It was odd, but she was beginning to feel a connection.

"You're an anthropologist. Now that is an interesting field." Doctor Saunders smiled a sincere smile, her green eyes wide with wonder.

"It's quite different than psychology." Brennan replied.

"Yeah, but with a similar premise. They are both focused on the actions and desires of people. Though, psychology is a soft science, kind of a pseudo-science." She shrugged, watching Brennan narrow her eyes at her suspiciously. "You're wondering why I'm a psychologist if I don't like the discipline?"

"If you don't believe in your work, how would that make you successful in it?" Brennan asked.

"There are a lot of different types of people in this world, Doctor Brennan." She stated, noting Brennan's eyebrow raise. "Tempe." She said with a nod. "Every person has lived through a different life. Even identical twins who grow up in the same house, and marry the same type of man, and live in the same type of house and go into the same type of job… even they have different experiences and lives. It's those differences and those experiences that make us who we are. That's why I went into psychology. I'm not a hands on kind of person. I am well educated and do my best work in hands off studies of the mind. I focus on a person's experiences, on their emotions, thoughts, and beliefs. I find that it allows patients or clients to gain insight into their lives and present day problems." She said softly, watching Brennan nod.

"Psychodynamic therapy." Brennan nodded.

"Exactly!" Doctor Saunders grinned. "So, you're familiar with the technique?"

"Yes." Brennan said, nodding, her expression unreadable for the moment.

"Do you have experience with Psychodynamic therapy?" Doctor Saunders asked.

"I'm familiar with the concept." Brennan said, her mind running through the knowledge on the subject like a rolodex.

"Well, you mentioned in your questionnaire prior to the appointment that you have been experiencing nocturnal disruptions, night terrors, and some level of anxiety and stress reactions. You mentioned that you have an extremely stressful job, and while I am interested in learning more about those stresses, nightmares and the like are often caused by a repression, rationalization, and denial of those every day stresses. These defense mechanisms keep painful feelings, memories, and experiences in the unconscious. So basically, what I provide here is a face to face opportunity for you to speak freely about those emotions, desires, and fears. Once these vulnerable feelings are processed, the defense mechanisms will have the opportunity to resolve themselves." She said, watching as Brennan's brow furrowed.

"I have someone in my life that I am able to speak freely to about my fears." She said, clearing her throat when she heard the quiver in her voice.

"Okay." Doctor Saunders said. "That's good, that's very good." She smiled. "However, what I provide you with is a completely unrestricted, and emotionally unbound sounding board. This person that you mentioned…"

"Booth." She said quickly, his name coming off her lips like a bark. "Seeley Booth. My partner. We are partners in our job, and in our lives. We are engaged." She said, letting the word slide off her tongue awkwardly. She never had an issue talking about Booth, but suddenly she was extremely protective of him, of their relationship. She watched Doctor Saunders smile slightly.

"Congratulations." Doctor Saunders smiled. She didn't ask any further questions, knowing that anything that Brennan shared should be of her own free will.

"Thank you." Brennan said awkwardly.

"Is he an anthropologist too?" Doctor Saunders asked, tipping her head slightly.

Brennan let out a laugh, a loud boisterous laugh that was almost jarring under the quiet circumstances of the office. "No. No, he's an FBI Special Agent." She explained. "I am a forensic anthropologist. We work together to solve crimes. He says that I am the brains, and he is the brawn, and while I can take care of myself, it doesn't hurt to have a sniper-trained FBI agent as a partner." She said, her eyes glittering with happiness. "I do talk to him about my feelings, desires, and fears. But often those fears are centered around him, around our work." She said, her smile dropping from her lips as her eyes flicked down to her hand, the ring on her finger firmly between her long fingers as she twisted it anxiously. "I believe that this…" She said, looking up at the doctor. "I believe you're correct. I think that having the opportunity to work through these repressed fears and anxieties with a completely unbiased third party, such as yourself would be beneficial to my wellbeing." She said, nodding definitively.

"I look forward to our conversations." Doctor Saunders said softly.

"As do I." Brennan nodded.

"Alright, so I know a little bit about you, and you know a bit about me. I think we've made a good start, don't you?" She shrugged, watching Brennan nod. "How about, instead of focusing on some negative things, we focus on some positive things for the rest of the session?"

"That sounds good." Brennan said, a slight smile returning to her face. "Where would you like to start?" She asked tipping her head.

"Let's start with letting me see that beautiful engagement ring." Doctor Saunders grinned, watching Brennan look up and smile while she slowly extended her hand. "Looks like this sniper-trained FBI agent has some good taste." She grinned, as she listened to Brennan let out a throaty laugh, and the women continued the session in good spirits.


	27. Ensnare a Murderer

**Friday, August 29th- 3:30pm-**

Brennan stepped out of her therapy appointment with a refreshed feeling. Her cheeks were flushed, her mind much clearer than it had been in months. It wasn't that she felt that her problems and issues had been solved, she was far too smart to delude herself like that. She just felt that she was on the right track. She was quite pleased with Doctor Saunders' demeanor, comfortable in her approach and respect toward her. The session had gone longer than an hour, but she had been assured that because it was their first session, she had allotted more than the typical session time to get to know Brennan better. She glanced at her phone as she stepped toward her car, scrolling through the text messages that she had amassed in the short time she had put the phone on silent. She was about to call Booth when her phone started ringing in her hand the moment she took it off silent, with his name promptly displayed.

"Brennan." She said, resting the phone against her ear, she pulled her keys from her pocket and approached her car, pressing the lock to disengage it.

"Hey, Bones. You out of your appointment?" He asked, knowing that clearly she was out of her appointment if she was answering her phone.

"You called twice before." She said, her humor sliding through the line easily, she listened to him chuckle.

"I figured it would only be an hour. I wanted to check on you." He said, trying to sound innocent. She could hear him typing in the background. "How'd it go?"

"It went fine." She said, knowing that standing outside of her car was probably not the best time to reiterate her experience with Doctor Saunders. "How did the interrogation go?"

"He lawyered up. We sent his car to the lab. Techs said there was what looked like blood in the trunk, and I would rather have your squints work on it." He said, listening to the pause on her end. "That way, I can come over and see you." He smiled.

"I knew there was more to your decision making." She teased. "I am heading to the lab right now. Hopefully we can wrap up the case today. I'd like to have a relaxing weekend." She said softly.

"Well, Parker will be over tomorrow morning. I'm not sure how relaxing it'll be." He teased.

"Parker is extremely well behaved. I believe that it's his father that has proven to be quite the handful." She laughed, climbing into the car. She sighed tenderly, listening to his laugh.

"You sound a little happier." He said suddenly.

She wasn't sure she believed what he said was true, or if she felt that he was simply being kind. Instead of arguing, however, she decided to surprise him. "I am feeling a little happier." She replied. "Thank you for making me go see Doctor Saunders." She said, closing her eyes as she settled behind the wheel.

"You know I can't make you do anything, Bones. I can only encourage you. You're the one that makes the final decisions. I know that. I just love you very much, and I'm willing to have an argument if it means that you're listening to my side of things."

"Are you heading over toward the lab soon?" She asked.

"The car should be on its way now. The techs sent ahead some samples. I'm leaving in about ten minutes." He said, his tone soft and full of emotion.

"I'll be there in about twenty minutes." She said, saying her goodbye quickly as she hung up and started her car.

* * *

**Friday, August 29th- 3:50pm-**

Brennan pulled her car into her parking space in the parking garage, and lifted her bag from its place on the passenger seat. She climbed from the seat, her mind on her visit with Doctor Saunders, the case, and of course the big conversation that she and Booth were going to have. She shouldered her bag and stepped toward the elevator, glancing down for a moment, she stopped when she heard the sound of familiar footfalls behind her. She smiled slightly to herself, and when he put his hand on her shoulder, she reached up and pulled it, listening to his resounding 'oof' when she swung him around and pushed him back against the nearby concrete wall.

"Geez, Bones." Booth whined, though it was short lived when he saw the mischievous glint in her eyes. "I thought you were going to try to strangle me."

"You know that grabbing me in a parking garage is a no-no." She said, narrowing her eyes, she saw a flash of panic in his and her grin widened, her hands still flat against his chest as she held him against the wall.

"Sorry." He said, smiling innocently, his eyebrow lifting in permission. "I should know better." He said, letting his voice drop an octave, his own gaze holding its own mischievous sparkle.

"I thought you were going to meet me at the lab." She said, tipping her head curiously. She knew why he met her in the parking garage.

"Because if I met you at the lab, then I couldn't do this." He said, leaning forward. Her hands gently slid from his chest to his tie, pulling him even closer as their lips met, a gentle groan in both of their throats.

She pulled from the kiss and stared at his tie for a moment. "I do like the way you think." She said, looking up into his dark eyes. "You're a very perceptive man."

"And sexy." He said, a smile on his lips. "And charming."

"And horribly modest." She said, pulling the tie, she captured his lips with another kiss before she turned and walked toward the elevator. He was right behind her, sidling up beside her with his hand at its place on her back. He pushed the button on the elevator, and she looked up at him, feeling a bit of the electricity between them that was always there.

They stepped into the open elevator, and turned, standing beside the panel as Booth pressed the button for the floor of the lab. He stepped back beside her and they waited. He could feel her leaning into him gently and turned his head slightly just to breathe her in. "You're sniffing me." She mumbled.

"So?" He said, fully aware that she was calling him out, but not caring for a moment. "I like the way you smell." He mumbled. She looked up at him with a perplexed glare, and he tipped his head as he smiled. "What?"

"It's a wonder we got any work done in the first five years of our partnership. With me smelling the way I do, and you looking the way that you do." She said flashing him a smile just as the elevator door opened. She stepped out into the hallway and let out a laugh when he wasn't immediately behind her. "Let's go, Booth." She said, walking toward the lab, she didn't turn to look toward him as she scanned her card.

"Wait a minute!" He called. "What does that mean?" He asked, trying to sound offended as he jogged after her. "Bones, wait." He laughed, moving right into step beside her as their bickering began once again.

* * *

As was usual, the workers in the lab could hear Booth and Brennan before they could see them, though the conversation was in hushed tones, it was very clear that it wasn't a true argument of any kind. Their words were muted, but their laughter was true and happy. Brennan moved toward her office, and the bickering died down, and Booth slowed by the platform. He stopped when he saw Hodgins look down toward him with a friendly wave.

"The suspect's car should be here any minute." Booth said. "Did the techs send the samples ahead of it?"

"Yep." Hodgins nodded. "It's definitely blood. Cam is running tests on it to see if it matches the victim. Any other evidence we find in the car will just be gravy."

"Gravy. I like gravy. Gravy is good. Gravy makes for a good case." Booth said, watching Hodgins nod.

"You're always thinking with your stomach." Brennan said, walking up behind him, buttoning up her lab coat. She was looking down as she passed him, climbed the steps and scanned her card, looking back toward him to see his jaw was open just a bit. She smiled at him and he snapped his mouth shut.

"Gut, Bones. I think with my gut. Not my stomach." Booth argued.

"Last I checked, one's stomach is part of the digestive system, which is part of the colloquial 'gut' that you continually refer to." She said, listening to the small grunt that Booth let out to announce his displeasure.

"I'm going to go sit in your office until the car gets here." He said, watching her nod her head as she turned toward a microscope.

Brennan listened to the sound of Booth's shoes slapping the floor as he walked toward her office, and looked up toward Hodgins, where he was standing nearby. "You're wondering why I'm so mean to him."

"Nope." Hodgins said, shaking his head. "You guys do you." He laughed. "With the solve rate that we have, and his relationship with everyone here. I am not going to mess with the way that you guys work. It's a process like everything else here." He smiled. "If he wants to call me bug boy, and rattle your nerves every once in a while, but we catch the bad guy… well then who am I to argue."

"Very rational of you, Doctor Hodgins." She said politely. Then she straightened slightly. "I spoke with Doctor Saunders this afternoon." She said, watching Hodgins nod, stepping toward her. "Thank you for the recommendation. I believe she will be quite helpful."

"It's no problem, Doctor B. Anything you need, just ask." He shrugged.

"I appreciate it." She said with a sigh. "How about we ensnare us a murderer." She smiled.

"Snag." He said. "Snag us a murderer, Doctor B." Hodgins said, watching a familiar look of confusion on her face. "Forget it." He smiled, and they both turned back to the work at hand.


	28. Thank You

**Friday, August 31- 8:30pm-**

Brennan sat at the small desk on the platform, her hand was moving deftly over the paper as she finished her report on the findings. She wanted to have it all completed before she left for the day, so that she could have the weekend on her own terms without worrying of their suspect getting released. They were fairly certain that they had the evidence they needed, they were just focusing on getting through the weekend, so that everything could be finalized on Monday. She finished her final report, pulling the paper from the folder, she placed it in another folder and closed it, letting her eyes move toward her office.

She noticed that the lights had gone dark and had been so for quite a while, an indication that the occupants of her office were probably asleep, and she felt a pang of guilt. While Booth had gone back to his office once the car had been delivered, and shared dinner with her that he had brought back with him at a little after six, she still hadn't been in her office to see him. He had even brought Michael up from daycare for dinner. Partly as a way to spend time with him, and partly to convince her that she should pack up for the night. However, that had been quite a while ago, and she was still working. When she dotted her last 'I' and crossed her last 'T', she closed the folder and placed it in the small rack of files beside the evidence that was still displayed on the platform.

Her eyes moved across the lab toward the bone room, where the bones of Elizabeth Danby sit exposed and glowing in the light of the room. She stared across at them for a long few moments, her thoughts shifting slowly toward grief. She rarely ever let the death of a victim enter her psyche for long, but knowing that the little boy sleeping in her office right now would never see her face again sent a heavy lead weight to the pit of her stomach. She gasped a bit, trying to catch the racing thoughts that were shooting through her mind like lightning. Her breath quickened, and a sob sat at the back of her throat as she nearly let out a whimper.

"Hey." Booth's voice instantly broke through the chaos in her mind, and her head turned sharply to face him. Her eyes were red rimmed, her lower lip trembling. "Are you okay, Bones?" He asked. He was standing at the bottom of the steps, his suit jacket and tie long since discarded, and a baby slept comfortably against his shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asked again when she didn't answer immediately.

"I…" She whimpered, sucking in a breath between her teeth. "I just… it's not fair." She said, her voice a near whimper. "It's not fair that he can't grow up with his mother because someone was selfish and took her away from him. It's just not fair, Booth." She ended in a whisper.

"I know." Booth said, stepping toward the steps, she moved toward him before he came up, hoping to avoid the alarm on the platform going off, for fear that it would wake the baby. "Are you just about done?" He asked, watching her step down toward him, her eyes focused on his as he gently rubbed the baby's back.

"Yes." She said, nodding. She watched the sleeping baby's cheek pressed against Booth's chest, his long dark eyelashes against the stark white of Booth's dress shirt. "I'm ready to go home." She said, feeling her panic start to dissipate, and the lump in her throat seemed smaller.

"Good." Booth said, reaching for her with his free arm, he pulled her gently against him, kissing her head gently. "Let's get you home, and we'll talk about our plans for the long weekend." He said, kissing her again.

"Long weekend?" She asked, looking up at him, her eyebrow lifted curiously.

"Yeah, it's Labor Day weekend." He said, tipping his head as if he expected her to know. "We have Parker until Monday afternoon."

"Oh." She said, still looking confused for a moment, her eyes lightened up as a smile slid onto her lips. "We have Parker all weekend?" She asked, watching him nod happily. "That makes me very happy." She said, leaning up to kiss Booth's cheek, she ran her fingertips over the spot where her lips had touched him, keeping her eyes on his.

"Sometimes I think you like the kid more than you like me." He teased, watching her smile widen.

"Sometimes I do." She grinned. "Let me get my things and turn down some of the lights, and we can go." She said, walking past him toward her office. "You do realize that we each have our cars, right? You could have left and been home already." She said, listening to the sound of his feet right behind her.

"I didn't want to leave you here alone in the lab." He said, stepping into the office. "Besides, you know I was hoping to have you out of here almost two hours ago." He said, watching her eyes lift to his as she gathered her things. "We'll get your car tomorrow." He said, flashing her a charm smile.

"Okay." She said, taking a deep breath, she looked around her office and let it out with a bit of a laugh. "Well, it looks like you both made yourself quite comfortable." She said, nodding toward the array of baby toys and blankets on the table, couch, and floor. She started picking them up, and he moved around her while still holding the baby and helped pick them up as well.

"Well, we were having fun until he fell asleep." Booth said, tossing one of the toys into the playpen.

"And then you fell asleep." She said slyly, turning to see a look of faux offense on his face. "I noticed the motion lights were off." She said, letting out a giggle.

"He fell asleep on me, I didn't want to move." Booth laughed. "I wasn't sleeping. I was awake the whole time."

"Then what would account for the snoring that I heard in here?" She asked, turning away from him so he couldn't see her wicked smile, she picked up another toy and when she turned around he was right in her path. The smile she tried to hide only became brighter, and he tried to glare at her.

"I don't snore." He said, his voice husky.

"Sometimes you do." She teased back, kissing his nose, her hand went to the sleeping baby's back as he started to stir. "Let's get him home."

"Sounds good to me." He said, kissing her lips gently as he started to yawn, he held Michael against him as he tried to stifle it. "I guess I am pretty tired." He said, reaching over to grab his jacket, Brennan lifted Michael to her arms and he slipped on his jacket. He gathered what he needed, and she grabbed her things, and without another glance back into the office, they turned off the lights and headed for the exit.

* * *

Once they were in the car, Brennan settled in her seat comfortably, feeling the exhaustion from the day finally loosen all of her muscles. She could feel the pull of sleep already, thinking of how stressful everything had been that day. Hoping to keep her mind off the appointment she still hadn't spoken to Booth about, and any focus of the case off her mind, she glanced to Booth's face has he drove.

"Thank you." She said, watching his eyes flick in her direction quickly, then back to the road.

"Thank you?" He asked, reaching his hand toward her, she quickly pulled it into her hand. She let her fingers move gently across his. "What are you thanking me for?"

"I don't know. Everything." She shrugged. "Thank you." She whispered again.

"That's pretty broad, Bones." He said, letting out a slight chuckle, though he could see that she wasn't in a laughing mood. "You're welcome." He said, running his thumb over her skin, he lifted her hand to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss. "Anything you need, I am right here."

"Thank you." She said softly, as she closed her eyes and held his hand tightly, drifting into a dreamless sleep as Booth guided them all safely home.


	29. Secret's Out

**Friday, August 31st- Evening**

By the time Booth pulled into his parking space near his apartment, Brennan's hold on his hand was loosened, and her head was resting on her shoulder. Her eyes were closed delicately, and it was clear that she was sleeping peacefully. He couldn't hear any movement from the baby in the backseat, and he alone was awake in the car. He pulled his hand from hers and soundlessly put the car into park and pulled the key from the ignition, his eyes focusing on the moment. He sat in his seat below the gauzy streetlight's beam watching as Brennan's chest gently rose and fell with each breath. He caught himself counting them, as he counted his blessings, thanking his Lord for sending him home into her arms. Booth knew that he couldn't tell her what he had done, but he was sure that she knew his need for prayer and thanks, just as she understood his desire for karmatic balance.

He could tell the moment she awoke, probably from the lack of movement of the car and the quieted engine. He reached for her hand and took it in his own, and he watched her lift her blue eyes to his face. "I fell asleep." She said, her voice deep with a sleepy grumble.

"You had a very long day." He replied, keeping his voice down, his thumb gently running over hers. She hummed her affirmative response and squeezed his hand. "I'm proud of you, Bones. I'm very proud of you."

She smiled slightly, taking a slow breath as she glanced into the back seat, trying to stifle a yawn. "I can't continue my late nights at the lab." She said, letting out another yawn without even bothering to try to stifle it. "He deserves more of my time." She said, looking over at the curious look on Booth's face. He had a small little smirk, and an eyebrow raised. "What?" she asked, tipping her head curiously.

"It sounds like you've already made a decision." He said, chuckling at her now narrowed eyes. "I still haven't even told Parker anything."

"Booth." She said, surprised that the boy had been told nothing about the possible addition to their family. "He should know."

"Well, we hadn't gotten the paperwork until today, and you and I still haven't really discussed it, and everything that has to be done for preparation if we were to decide to adopt him. We'll talk to Parker together. Rebecca is dropping him off at the diner tomorrow at noon. You and Michael are invited to lunch too, unless you had some things to do. I'd understand." Booth said, watching her gaze as she sat still unsure. "Listen, for something big like this, something that had the potential to maybe hurt Parker's feelings, or something we'd have to discuss with him fully. I'd rather do it in person than on the phone." He shrugged.

"I understand." She nodded. "Do you think he'll be amenable to it? Do you think he'll be upset? Do you think it'll hurt his feelings?" She asked, clearly concerned about Parker's reaction. She wasn't panicked, but the tone of her voice indicated that she was quite anxious.

"I have no idea what he'll think of it, but we'll spend the weekend with him, talk to him about it. Okay? He's a pretty easy going kid, Bones. I don't think a baby is going to scare him off." He laughed.

"I want him to be happy. He means a lot to me." She said, swallowing. "I love Parker very much, Booth."

"I know, and he loves you." Booth said, giving her hand a squeeze. "And he has never failed to tell me exactly what he was thinking about you, or anything." Booth said. "Let's get inside, go to bed. I missed out on sleeping next to you last night. I am looking forward to holding you tonight."

She smiled. "So needy." She sighed dramatically, listening to his laugh, as Booth climbed from the car to get Michael, and they made their way to the apartment together.

* * *

**Saturday, September 1st- 12:00pm-**

Booth looked up from his phone when the sound of the bell on the door rang through the crowded diner. He smiled at the grin on his son's face, as he excused himself quickly through the crowd, followed by Rebecca who looked like she had walked from her apartment to the Diner. "Hey, Dad!" Parker said excitedly, wrapping his arms around Booth as soon as he got to him, he pulled from the smile and laughed a little. "Where's Bones?"

"So that's all I get? I get 'Hi Dad', and then it's 'Where's Bones?' Where's the 'I love you', or the 'it's good to see you'?"

"Hi Dad, I love you and it's good to see you! Where's Bones?" He asked, giggling loudly when Booth tickled him, just as Rebecca made it to the table.

"Hey, Beck." Booth said, nodding to Parker to sit next to him, he smiled across at Rebecca.

"Hi." She said, sitting heavily in the chair. "It's been a long day." She sighed.

"How's your mom feeling?" He asked, knowing that she had been under the weather for several days, and it was one of the reasons Rebecca was okay with Booth taking Parker for the long weekend.

"She's doing a little better. She says hi." Rebecca sighed, watching Booth smile. "Oh wipe that smile off your face. You know my mom loves you." She said, shaking her head.

"Grandma says you're..." Parker started to say, but caught his mother's glare. "Grandma says you're nice." He said, swallowing hard, he lifted the menu up and stared at it, knowing that he'd get in trouble if he said anything else.

Booth simply smiled and shook his head. "So you're sure you're okay with us having him all weekend?"

"Well, he had a good time with you and Doctor Brennan, and... you know, he missed you a lot." She shrugged. "Do you have plans for the weekend?" She asked, just out of curiosity.

"Uh, well... maybe just some swimming today." He shrugged, noting that Parker was watching him very closely. "I hadn't checked with Bones yet, but I was thinking on taking them to a baseball game. Nationals are in town this weekend." He said, listening to the slight squeak from the excited boy beside him. "We have a few other things planned, maybe a barbecue with some friends at the park." He shrugged. "Nothing too big."

"Okay." She nodded. "Are you guys in the middle of a case or anything?" She asked curiously.

"Just finished one up, but we're working on an easier schedule." He shrugged.

"Getting wedding plans together?" She asked, lifting her eyebrow with a rueful smile, watching as Booth's jaw dropped slightly, and his head snapped to his son. Parker whipped the menu up to cover his face, but couldn't help giggling.

"Yeah, I didn't think that little secret was going to last very long." Booth said, narrowing his eyes at the menu next to him. He shook his head. "No wedding plans yet, it just kind of came up."

"It just kind of came up?" Rebecca asked with a laugh, clearly amused by the redness in Booth's cheeks.

"She asked me, okay?" Booth said, keeping his voice down. "She asked me first." He said, keeping his voice down.

"A brave, brave woman." Rebecca said, a laugh in her throat as Booth pointed his finger at Rebecca, trying to keep his cool. But he couldn't help it, he let out a laugh as he pointed at her, trying to find his words.

"Stop it." Booth said, trying not to laugh. "Beck, just... just stop it."

"I'm just..." She grinned, still laughing a bit. "I'm just surprised. I thought Doctor Brennan wasn't into the whole marriage thing."

"Well, she's had a change of heart." He said. "We're keeping things on the down-low. Okay?" Booth said, keeping his voice down. "Just... trying to keep our personal life personal, and work life at work. She had a lot of time to think about things when we were separated, and, well, we picked out a nice ring, nothing big and gaudy. It's just... I... I don't want to talk about this with you." He sighed. "No offense."

"I get it." Rebecca said, still smiling across at Booth. "I get it, Seeley. I do." She said, touching his hand. "Where is Doctor Brennan anyway?" She asked, looking toward the door.

"I dropped her off at the lab to get her car. She had a couple of errands to run, and was going to meet us here at 12:30." He said.

"Ah." Rebecca said. "Didn't know if she was avoiding me." She said, winking at Booth.

"Bones doesn't hide from anyone." Booth replied, glancing over at Parker, who was still hiding behind his menu.

"Well, I'll let you guys enjoy your lunch." She said, standing up. She pointed to the backpack she had set on the seat beside her. "This is his clothes, baseball mitt, and a few other things he wanted to pack for some reason. I'll see you Monday at your place." She said, watching Booth nod. "Parker?" She said, watching the boy's dark eyes focus on her from the top of the menu. "I love you, please be good for your dad and Doctor Brennan."

"Okay." The small voice said, nodding. "I love you too, Mom." He said, hazarding a glance to his father, whose eyebrows were raised, and the smile on his face told him nothing.

"Bye, Seeley." She said, and with a quick wave, she made her leave from the diner.

Booth sat quietly as he watched Rebecca leave the diner and climb into her car, his fingers lightly drumming on the table for a moment. "You couldn't keep your mouth shut for one week?" Booth asked.

Parker looked over at Booth and sighed. "Dad, I couldn't keep my mouth shut for one day." He said, as if the biggest weight ever was on his shoulders. "Are you kidding me?"

"Kid." He sighed, shaking his head, giving Parker a nudge. "Geez."

"Are you mad at me?" He asked, swallowing hard.

"Nah." Booth shook his head. "I'm not mad at ya." He said, watching Parker's eyes sparkle again as he smiled. "Hey, look... there's Bones." He said, nodding as he watched Brennan's car pull up to the curb, he watched as Parker's head snapped in that direction.

"What's she doing?" Parker asked, watching as Brennan climbed from the driver's side and went to the back seat.

"Uh, well... we kind of have a little something that we wanted to talk about with you." Booth said, cringing a little as Parker gasped.

"Dad?" Parker asked, watching as Brennan carefully pulled Michael from his car seat, and reached for the diaper bag. "Why does Bones have a baby with her?" He asked.

"Well, that's kind of what we have to talk about." He said, watching as Parker turned his head with wide eyes. "You alright?" He asked, watching Parker swallow hard, his facial expression unreadable. "Parker?"

"I'm fine, Dad." He said, sucking in a breath as he watched Brennan walk through the door holding Michael in her arms.

She approached the table a bit cautiously, and could instantly see the widened, almost petrified look on the boy's face. "Parker." She smiled, watching his eyes water a bit, he looked like he was about to cry. "I'd like you to meet Michael." She said, tipping her head, she started to sit down, holding Michael in his arms.

Suddenly, Parker stood straight up, his eyes on the baby in Brennan's arms. "I have to go to the bathroom." He said quickly, and with that, he took off like a shot toward the restroom.

As the restroom door closed behind the boy, the two sets of eyes that followed him finally met. "Well... that didn't really go as well as I thought it would." Booth said with a cringe. He watched Brennan shake her head. "I should probably..."

"Yes. You should." She said, nodding toward the restroom.

"I'll be right back." Booth said, as he stood up, and quickly made his way toward the back of the diner.


	30. Mister Understanding

**Saturday, September 1st- 12:00pm-**

Booth entered the restroom slowly, allowing for another patron to excuse himself past him, and glanced to the two stalls. One of the doors were closed, and he could see his son's sneakers beneath it. He waited a moment without saying a word, and when he heard a light sniffle on the other side of the door, he let out a sigh. He cleared his throat and the sniffling stopped.

"Parker?" Booth said, sighing softly. He waited a moment, and when the little boy didn't answer, he leaned against the stall. "Parker, come out and talk to me." He said, and still heard nothing. "Unless you crawled out of the tiny window above the toilets, or flushed yourself down, bud. I know you're in there, so you may as well come out."

"I don't want to." Parker sniffled.

"Do you want me to break the stall door down?" He asked.

Parker sniffled. "You wouldn't do that. You'd get in trouble."

"I'd get into any kind of trouble if it meant you were safe and not upset. So are you going to make me break the door down, or are you going to flush yourself down the toilet?" He asked. After a moment, he heard the slide of the lock on the door, but Parker made no move to open the door. "Come on, pal. Come out and talk to me, because trust me, whatever you're thinking is going on is a million times worse than the truth. I guarantee it."

It took another moment or two, but the door opened slowly, and Booth could see one brown eye looking out at him. "You can't guarantee it." He said softly. "You don't even know what I think is going on."

"No. But if you'd give Bones and me a chance to tell you what's going on, you can tell us what your worries are, and I am sure that we can make sure you feel better."

Parker stared at his father for a long few moments.

"If we don't get out there soon, Bones is going to order for us, and eat all of our french fries." Booth said, giving the boy a pointed look. "Is that what you want?"

"No." He whispered, sighing.

"You didn't even say hi to Bones yet, you just ran off in here. That probably didn't make her feel very good." Booth said, watching Parker's eyes drop to the floor as the door opened a little further.

"I'm sorry." He said, stepping out of the stall, the boy rubbed his palm over his eye to swipe at a tear. "Dad? Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything." Booth said, tipping his head as he tried to read his son's expression.

"Are you and Bones replacing me?" He asked, as new tears formed in his eyes.

"No." Booth said, outright without even a half second pause. "You aren't going anywhere." He said, leaning down slightly so that he could meet his son eye to eye. There was a moment where he wanted to tell Parker that even the thought of replacing him was ridiculous, but knew that it was so much more important to diminish the boy's fears, and focus on the now.

"I never could, and never would even think of replacing you, Parker. You are the most important person in my life, do you understand that? There is nobody in this world that is or will be more important than you." He said, feeling bit choked up himself. "Do you understand?"

"I... I just..." The boy swallowed. "What about Bones? You guys are getting married. Isn't she more important to you than me now?"

"No. Bones has nothing to do with where you stand in my life, Parker." He said, watching Parker's eyes narrow. "You are the most important, and Bones knows that, so there's no argument. You got that?"

"I dunno." He whispered and shrugged. "Who is Michael?" He swallowed.

"Well, he's a kid who lost the most important person in his life." Booth said, suddenly feeling extremely fatigued, he touched his son's chin gently and watched his kind brown eyes focus on him, a bit of a wrinkle appearing in his forehead.

"He lost his dad?" He asked, swallowing hard. Parker suddenly felt a pit of guilt building in his belly.

"He lost his mom, actually." Booth said softly. "His mom passed away. Bones and I have been taking care of him." He said, watching Parker swallow hard. "You didn't know, pal. It's okay."

"I shouldn't have run off." He sighed. "I should have asked."

"Yes, but it's okay. You have to stop jumping to conclusions so quickly. You jump without looking, and you end up in deep water." Booth said.

"I don't know what that means." Parker said, lifting an eyebrow curiously, the corner of his lip turning up.

"I know that you hang out with Bones too much when you start quoting her." Booth said, listening to his son's giggle. "Let's go out there and we'll talk about it all, okay? You can ask us anything, and we'll tell you anything you want to know." He said, watching Parker nod, and a bit of color returned to his face, the tears now dry. "Alright?" He asked, and Parker nodded. Booth touched his shoulder and they turned together, with Parker leading them out of the restroom.

They walked out of the bathroom and turned toward the table, and Booth's eyes focused right on Brennan. She was sitting facing the bathrooms, her focus on the baby in her arms as she spoke with him. Her eyes were bright blue and happy, and she had a smile on his face that brought one to his own lips. She talked with Michael happily, giving him a little tickle as her eyes lifted to meet the two of them as they approached the table.

Parker saw the happiness in Brennan's eyes too, and thought for a split second that she would be upset that he hadn't said hello, but when their eyes met the joy that he had seen when she talked to Michael didn't waver for a moment. And for a split second he wondered if she always looked at him like that. "Parker." She smiled, reaching for his hand, he stepped up and immediately leaned in for a hug. She wrapped her arm around him tightly, kissing the side of his head. "I missed you." She whispered into his curls.

"I missed you too, Bones." He said, pulling from the hug. He listened to his father sit in a chair behind him, and he took a step back. "I apologize for running off when you got here." He said, sighing softly.

"That's fine." She said, reaching for his hand on the table, she gave it a little squeeze and then repositioned the baby gently onto her lap. "Michael." She said, focusing the baby's attention across the table. "See over there?" She said softly. "That's Parker." She said, watching Parker smile shyly across the table. "I was just telling Michael how smart you are, and how kind and thoughtful you are." She said, watching the baby giggle and babble toward the boy. "While I don't believe he actually understands what I'm saying, he knows from my tone that I am speaking kindly about you." She smiled. "How are you feeling today, Parker?"

"I'm good, Bones." He sighed, smiling at her, though his focus was brought to the baby's bright blue eyes again. "Hungry." He shrugged.

"Good, because I ordered our lunch." She said with a conspiratorial smile. "I hope you don't mind that I got you a chocolate milkshake." She said, watching Parker's smile brighten.

"Bones." Booth said, pretending to admonish her, but grateful that she was being so sweet to him, sweeping the earlier issue away.

"Thanks, Bones." Parker grinned, sending his smile back to his father, who shook his head.

"You both are trouble." He said, wagging his finger at Brennan as their lunch was served, just as Michael let out a joyful squeal of delight. "Make that all three of you! Nothing but trouble!" He exclaimed with a laugh, as waitress suddenly appeared with their lunch at the table side.


	31. Confusion and Hurt

**Saturday, September 1st-  
**

Parker seemed to perk up a little over lunch, telling Brennan and Booth a few stories about how everything had been since the previous weekend. He talked with an animated expression, but it was clear that his excitement was a bit tempered. Brennan and Booth both could tell that he wasn't exactly moving at full speed, and they both had concerns about it. Michael sat on Brennan's lap, reaching for every thing he could get his pudgy little hands on, and while Brennan was kept busy by this, she watched Parker closely.

As lunch finished, and they packed their things, Booth grabbed Parker's bag as they stood up. Parker was looking at the bill as he scratched his temple a moment. "Did you figure out the tip?"

Parker continued to stare at the numbers on the bill, and looked up at his father, smiling. "Five dollars and sixteen cents." He said, his grin brightening. "I did twenty percent."

"That's a good tip." Booth said, nodding as he handed Parker money to leave on the table. "Good job." He said, taking the ticket from him.

"I can do math really easy in my head." He said, his eyes flicking to Brennan, who was watching with a slight smile, his cheeks turned a bit red, and his eyes flicked away from her bashfully.

"I'm very proud of you." Brennan said, noticing that Booth was watching the exchange. She stood up as well, hefting Michael into her arms as she reached for the diaper bag.

"I can get that, Bones." Parker said, reaching for the bag, he lifted it with no problem, he looked to Booth who was holding his overnight bag. He smiled up at Brennan and they all headed toward the exit. Booth stopped briefly to pay the bill at the register, and as they piled out onto the sidewalk, they paused for a moment to make a decision about the afternoon.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Booth asked, glancing to Brennan and then to Parker.

"I dunno." He shrugged.

"Swimming?" Booth asked, watching Parker's eyes brighten, he glanced to Brennan holding the baby and they dulled a bit. "We can all go swimming, it's okay."

"Are you sure? He's really small, Dad. What if I accidentally splash him?" Parker whispered.

"Then be careful." Booth shrugged, unsure of why Parker was so concerned. He could see the worry start to knit the boy's brow. He turned to Brennan and she seemed to have a matching concern. "Bones, why don't you go on to your place with Mikey. Parker and I are going to go pick up a few things at the store, and we'll be over in about an hour."

"Okay." She nodded, giving Booth a supportive smile, she leaned toward him and dropped a kiss on his lips. Her blue eyes focusing on him for a split second longer than usual. He flashed her a smile, and she couldn't help but smile slightly. "I'll see you guys soon." She said, glancing to Parker holding the diaper bag. "Parker, can you help me put that bag in my car?"

"Sure, Bones." Parker said, smiling tenderly as they walked toward the car. Brennan unlocked the back door and he put the bag inside.

Booth watched as Brennan strapped Michael into his seat, and Parker faced her for a moment when she stood up. Booth watched her put her hand on his head of curls and say something softly, leaning down to kiss his forehead gently, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and she held him for a moment. When they pulled from the hug, he looked up at her with a grin. "Go on with your Dad, and I'll see you soon."

"See you soon." Parker said, his eyes sparkling at her smile. He turned and walked toward his father as he waited. "Sorry, I hadn't given Bones a real hug yet." He said with a shrug.

"Yeah, yeah. Putting the moves on my girl. I get it." He winked as Parker laughed. "Let's get in the car." Booth said, waving to Brennan as he and Parker made their way toward his SUV.

* * *

Once on their way, Parker glanced to his father knowingly. "You want to talk." Parker sighed.

"Is it that obvious?" Booth asked, sending his son a quick smile.

"I'm okay, Dad. I promise." Parker said, looking out the window as Booth drove, glancing to his boy with a concerned expression.

"Well, I wanted to give you an opportunity to talk to me about the situation. Everything is moving at lightning speed, and I want to be completely sure that any of your questions get answered." Booth replied.

"I don't have any questions." Parker sighed, rolling his eyes at the window.

"What if I told you that Bones and I are thinking of adopting Michael?" Booth said, watching his son's head snap in his direction, his brown eyes wide.

"What?" Parker squeaked. "I thought you guys were just looking after him. I thought you were just helping." He said, a bit of panic in his voice, he watched his father's calm eyes and swallowed hard, allowing no more words to come. "Dad?"

"Michael doesn't have any parents, Parker. He's young, and Bones doesn't want to see him go into the foster system." Booth explained. "He has no family."

"So he's just going to go and take mine?" Parker snapped, feeling a pit of jealousy and anger rising from his stomach.

"Parker, I already told you that you're my number one priority." Booth said.

"Yeah, until you decide that baby is your number one priority." He scoffed, feeling hurt and confused.

"Parker, this is why we wanted to make you part of this, talk to you. We want you to be comfortable with the idea." Booth explained.

"Oh, so if I'm not comfortable with the idea, then you're going to send him away? You want me to be the bad guy? You want Bones to hate me? I see how she looks at him. She wants a baby, Dad. I'm not going to be the bad guy!" He exclaimed. "That's not fair!"

"Hey! Woah... nobody is asking for you to be the bad guy, Park!" Booth said, seeing the angry tears in his son's eyes. "Hey. I'm not asking you to be the bad guy." He said calmer. "We're trying to see if this will work for us, Parker. We're trying to see if we can do it too. It's not all about you. We have busy schedules, a dangerous job. It's not up to you, but you're an important part of our family. Your thoughts and feelings matter to us." Booth said, watching the defensive posture of his son as he turned his head to stare out the window, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Parker, that's why we're talking about it."

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." He sniffled. "I just want to go home, just take me home."

"You don't want to go to Bones' place and go swimming?" Booth asked, watching his son's glare as he turned his head and clashed his eyes against his father's. "Fine, we'll go home." He said, not wanting to argue with him. "I'll call Bones and let her know we're not coming over." He said, watching Parker look back out the window.

Booth continued to drive, glancing to Parker once in a while, trying to read his expression and posture. It was clear that the boy didn't want to talk right now, and Booth sighed as he decided to let it rest for now, as he made his way toward his apartment in silence.

* * *

**Hey everyone! Comments and thoughts are ALWAYS appreciated. I wanted to extend a HELLO to my new readers... this quarantine stuff has been pretty good for the ole fanfiction circuit. Haha... I apologize for delays in postings... sometimes the muse doesn't work as quickly as I'd like, but I'm still here... still well, still trying to find time and patience to write. As for my other stories... once this one is finished, I will finish up some unfinisheds... and maybe start up that sequel to Silver Bells. ;) Keep healthy, keep safe. - PJ.**


	32. Puberty or Something

**Saturday, September 1st-  
**

Booth took the circuitous route to his apartment, noting that Parker didn't seem to notice or care. When he arrived at the apartment twenty minutes later, he pulled into his space in front of the building and reached for his phone. He noticed Parker's eyes flick to him and he gave him a guarded smile. "I'm going to call Bones to let her know." He said, though Parker's eyes remained trained on his. He had a penetrating stare, his tears long gone. "Okay?"

Parker's mouth opened to say something, and then he clamped it shut, swallowing hard. He watched his father take the phone and press a button. "Wait." Parker said suddenly, watching Booth glance to him, he had already dialed and the phone was ringing.

"Hey, Bones." He said. "Can you hang on a sec? Sorry." He said, glancing to Parker. "What am I waiting for."

"Iwannagoswimming..." He mumbled quickly.

"What was that?" Booth asked.

"I want to go swimming." He sighed. "I want to go swimming at Bones'." he rolled his eyes. "Please?"

"Is this puberty or something?" He asked, watching Parker's brow furrow. "Nevermind." He said, lifting the phone to his ear. "We'll be a little bit, but we're coming by." He said into the line. "Nope, everything is just fine. We'll see you soon. Love you." He said, hanging up the phone. He set the phone on the console and glanced to Parker. "You want to go swimming now?"

"Yes." He sighed.

"You don't sound happy about it." Booth said, watching his son carefully. "You're overwhelmed."

"Yes." Parker nodded. "Everything has been weird since you got back, Dad. Everything is different, and weird, and... it's not that I don't like it. I mean, I love Bones. She's great, and smart, and pretty, and will be a great step-mom. It's just hard, you know? It's hard when I was thinking things were going to be like before, and every time I see you there's something new or different." He sighed, flopping his head back a bit dramatically. "It's all different."

"But is it a bad different?" Booth asked.

"I haven't decided." Parker said, rolling his head to look over at his father. "I mean... I'm not mad at Bones. She didn't do anything wrong. I can't be mad at Michael. He's a baby, and besides. I don't even know him very well. How old is he? Does he cry in the middle of the night? Are Bones and you going to stop watching movies late and doing fun things because there's a baby? How would adoption work if you and Bones live in different places? Where are you going to live? Are you going to move in with Bones? When are you getting married?" Parker lamented, seeming to spiral a little.

"We haven't discussed this stuff yet, bud. That's why we were excited to talk to you about it, get your opinion. We want you to be part of it so that you never feel left out." Booth explained. "So, you're mad at me?" He asked.

"No." Parker said softly. "I mean, not really. This isn't something that I have to keep from Mom, is it?" He asked, glancing to Booth.

"No." Booth shook his head. "I'll tell her at the end of the weekend when she comes to pick you up."

"What about all the other stuff? When are you going to decide all of that?" He asked.

"We'll talk this weekend. It's a long weekend, we have a lot planned, but you can talk to us at any time. You know that, Parker." Booth said.

"Are you going to tell Bones that I yelled at you and got mad?" He asked.

"No." Booth shrugged. "But I think she knows you're upset."

"You said she is bad at reading people sometimes." Parker replied. "Maybe she didn't notice."

"It was pretty obvious that something was bugging you, and she loves you. She knows human nature, she understands patterns and you weren't on your usual pattern." Booth explained. "Are you done being mad, now?", nudging his son with his elbow.

"I'm not mad." Parker said, giving his father a nudge back.

"I know." Booth said. "Can we go now?" He asked, smiling slightly at Parker.

"Yeah." Parker said with a nod. "Dad?"

"Hm?" Booth hummed, glancing to him.

"Can you please never say the word puberty again?" Parker asked, cringing a little.

"Deal." Booth nodded. "But I can't guarantee Bones won't go into a diatribe about the origin of species and some anthropological mumbo jumbo talk."

"Eh, it's okay. I don't understand half of the things she says anyway." Parker giggled.

"Me neither, Bud." Booth said with a laugh, "But that's why we love her." He chuckled, as they rode in silence toward Brennan's place.

* * *

Booth rapped lightly at Brennan's door as he and Parker waited patiently. The door opened to Brennan standing with her jaw open slightly, a look of confusion on her face. "Booth, you have a key." She said, turning away from the door, she listened to them come inside and glanced back to see Parker standing a bit awkwardly beside his father.

"I know, but I thought I'd be polite." He replied. "This is your apartment, after all. Your place..." He nodded toward Parker. "You know, privacy." He said, watching her nod slightly, still a little confused.

"Yes, well... We share a lot, and you may feel free to come inside whenever you like." She said, glancing to Parker. "The same goes for you, Parker."

Parker smiled. "Thanks, Bones." He said. "Where's Michael?" He asked, stepping inside a little further.

"Well, since you two said you'd be a little bit, I put him down for a nap." She said, watching as the sparkle seemed to flicker from Parker's eyes. "But, remember, we haven't been to the pool in a while." She said, turning toward the couch, she lifted up a box. "We have to inflate these pool tubes before we go in." She said, tossing the boy the box. He caught it, and a grin lit up his face. "The pump is in the front closet if you want to use it. I also have to get ready to go swimming, and it looks like so do you, so we have plenty of time to let him nap." She smiled.

"See that, Parker. She's always thinking." Booth said, smiling at his son's excitement as he started to open the box.

"Bones is a genius." Parker said, tearing into the box to get the pool tubes out, he excitedly started to work on his task.

Both watched the boy for a moment, and Booth stepped toward Brennan slowly. He pulled her close to him, feeling her chin settle on his chest for a moment, she looked up into his eyes. "Is he okay?" She whispered.

"There will be more talking, but I think he's okay for now." He whispered, kissing her temple gently.

"You guys are so gross." Parker mumbled with a giggle from beside the closet as he looked for the air pump.

"You're gross!" Booth said, sticking his tongue out at the boy, only to receive an admonishing smack from Brennan. He turned to face her, and her eyebrow was raised, a small smile at the corner of her lips. "What? He is."

"Go help him with the pool floats." She said, stepping back, she pulled from his arms and turned him, giving his butt a small tap to send him across the room. "I'm going to go get ready." She said, turning toward her bedroom.

"Ha ha, you got in trouble." Parker teased Booth.

"Hush, you." Booth grinned, and stepped over to help Parker.


End file.
